Guidelines for
patients

Core standards
for doctors

•  Good medical practice. A guide for doctors (June 2008)

  A concise guide to the professional standards, conduct and ethics, expected by the Medical Council of New Zealand.  The version posted here contains embedded links.  If you left-click on one of the references in the sidebar, a copy of the document referenced will appear in your browser. 

• Cole’s Medical Practice in New Zealand 2009
  
  An introduction to the main legislation, ethical standards and guidelines which govern medical practice in New Zealand.  Individual chapters of this book can be downloaded via the link, or a hard copy can be ordered from info@mcnz.org.nz.

Medical care

• A doctor’s duty to help in a medical emergency (August 2006)

• HRANZ Joint Guidelines for registered health care workers on transmissible major viral infections (November 2005)

• Statement on complementary and alternative medicine (March 2005)

• Statement on cosmetic procedures (October 2007)

• Statement on safe practice in an environment of resource limitation (October 2005)

Good prescribing
practice

• Good prescribing practice (April 2010)
  
• Prescribing drugs of abuse (April 2010)
  
• Prescribing performance enhancing medicines in sport (April 2010)

Communication and informed consent

• Statement on use of the internet and electronic communication
  (May 2006)

• The maintenance and retention of patient records (October 2005)

• Disclosure of harm ‘good medical practice’
  Medical Council statement (August 2008)

• Ending a doctor-patient relationship
  Medical Council statement (March 2004)

• When another person is present during the consultation
  Medical Council statement (March 2004)

• Legislative requirements about patient rights and consent (October 2005)

• Information and Consent
  Medical Council statement (April 2002)

• Statement on advertising (August 2010)

Cultural competence

• Statement on cultural competence (August 2006)
  
  
• Statement on best practices when providing care to Māori patients and their whānau (August 2006)
  
  
• Best health outcomes for Maori: Practice implications (October 2006)
  
  
• Best health outcomes for Pacific Peoples: Practice implications (May 2010) - in one document or separated out into sections below:
  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Principles
  4. Special Issues
  5. Summary

Management

Professionalism

• Unprofessional behaviour and the health care team. Protecting patient safety (August 2009)
   
• Medical certification (December 2007)
   
• The importance of clear sexual boundaries in the patient-doctor relationship. A guide for patients (October 2006)
   
• Statement on providing care to yourself and those close to you
  (June 2007)
   
• Non-treating doctors performing medical assessments of patients for third parties (June 2003)
   
• Responsibilties in any relationships between doctors and health related commercial organisations (June 2008)
  

• Sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship. A resource for doctors (October 2009)

You can order a copy of a selectively annotated bibliography of resources on sexual abuse by contacting info@mcnz.org.nz.