We are reviewing our statement on a doctor’s duty to help in a medical emergency and would value your feedback. This statement discusses a number of factors doctors should consider when responding to a medical emergency.

Telehealth is the use of digital technology to deliver health services where participants may be separated by distance and/or time. This statement outlines our expectation of doctors who practise telehealth in New Zealand and overseas, and includes guidance on registration, conducting physical examinations and prescribing.

Update on Hawke's Bay's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

Update on Auckland's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

Update on Waitemata's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

This statement outlines what cultural safety means and why it is important. The document reflects the evolution of thinking away from the cultural competence of doctors – that is acquiring skills and knowledge of other cultures – towards self-reflection of a doctor’s own attitudes and biases that may affect the cultural safety of patients. Council requires doctors to meet these cultural safety standards.

Update on Te Tai Tokerau's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

Update on Southern DHB's accreditation report as at 14 December 2023

Update on Wairarapa DHB's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

Update on Taranaki DHB's accreditation status as at 28 March 2024

Patients are entitled to information about their health and the care they are receiving. This statement outlines what we expect of doctors when helping patients to make an informed decision about their care and treatment.

Update on Tairāwhiti DHB's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

The purpose of this statement is to protect the public from advertising that is false, misleading or deceptive, and to
provide guidance to doctors about the advertising of health-related products and services.

Update on Whanganui DHB's accreditation status as at 25 May 2022

This statement outlines Council's expectations of doctors who perform cosmetic procedures. These include standards relating to training, skill and expertise, advertising and obtaining consent from the patient.

Update on Wairarapa DHB's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Update on Hutt Valley's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

This statement outlines the rights and responsibilities of health care workers and infected health care workers in relation to transmissible major viral infections.

As a doctor, you have an obligation to be respectful and professional as your behaviour may affect how a health team functions, how care is delivered to patients, and the public’s trust and confidence in the medical profession. If you have concerns about the conduct, competence or safety of a doctor’s practice, you should notify the Medical Council.

Update on Capital and Coast's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Update on South Canterbury DHB's accreditation report as at 27 October 2023

The Medical Council of New Zealand (the Council) wants to ensure that recertification programmes for all doctors are robust, help assure the public that the doctor is competent and fit to practise, and improve the current high standards of practice of doctors in New Zealand.

These are the current standards and have been updated to reflect the changes to ACLS requirements for interns. These standards identify the basic elements that must exist in all accredited prevocational intern training programmes. Providers of prevocational training programmes must demonstrate they meet these accreditation standards.

Update on Waitaha Canterbury's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Doctors are often asked to sign certificates for a wide range of purposes, such as confirming sickness, impairment or death. This statement outlines factors to consider, and the standards that doctors must follow, when issuing a medical certificate.

Update on Counties Manukau's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Update on Waitemata DHB's accreditation status as at 1 July 2022

Update on Nelson Marlborough's accreditation status as at 28 March 2024

Update on Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty's accreditation status as at 16 September 2024

We will achieve our vision, deliver on our purpose, uphold the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and be a sustainable organisation through our strategic priorities.

Prescribing medicines and treatment is an essential part of medical practice. This statement outlines what good prescribing practice involves and the legal requirements doctors must comply with.

This document highlights the revisions we're making around recertification, cultural safety, and health equity to the accreditation standards for NZ training providers of vocational medical training and recertification programmes

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016

This quick guide for stakeholders covers how to make an online claim through myMCNZ.

Internet, email, and other forms of electronic communication are ways in which doctors communicate with patients and other health professionals, find information, and participate in informed discussion. This statement guides doctors on the use of email and other forms of social media.

Report on our progress with its strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

Doctors are often asked for input by their family and friends. This may include requests for medical advice or a prescription, or more substantial involvement such as performing a procedure. This statement explains why doctors must avoid treating themselves and those they have a close personal relationship with.

Update on Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua MidCentral's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

PGY1 and PGY2 interns can only practise medicine in accredited clinical attachments. This document outlines the standards clinical attachments must meet to be accredited. These standards should be considered alongside the accreditation standards for training providers.

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018

This document is a copy of all written submissions we received when we consulted on our discussion document around strengthening recertification for vocationally-registered doctors. Feedback is published according to submitters preference for anonymity.

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

We recognise Taiwanese medical schools so that graduates from these schools have the opportunity to undertake NZREX Clinical. We must ensure we only register fully qualified doctors. However, the exclusion of Taiwanese medical schools from WDOMS is due to political factors and not the standard of those schools. The ECFMG has approved graduates of these schools to undertake the prerequisite examination - USMLE Steps 1 and 2.

We are reviewing our statement on Advertising. This draft statement highlights several ethical issues that arise with advertising such as the potential for overtreatment, and the power and knowledge imbalance between a doctor and a patient.

These standards only apply until 1 July 2020. This document outlines the standards New Zealand Colleges must meet in order to be reaccredited.

This guidance explains what doctors should consider when using artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care. Because AI is increasingly being used in medical practice, it is essential that doctors do so ethically and responsibly, to ensure patient safety and the privacy of health information.

This is an updated draft version of the statement which we're consulting on. Please see the consultation section of our website for more information including how to provide feedback.

A Review of Prevocational Training Requirements for Doctors in New Zealand: Stage 2 - A second consultation paper on the proposed changes to prevocational training

Prevocational Training Requirements for Doctors in
New Zealand: a discussion paper on options for an enhanced training framework

Our "Good medical practice" publication provides guidance to doctors on the standards of practice we expect.

Disclosure of harm refers to instances where a patient has been adversely affected as a direct result of medical care. Open disclosure in this situation promotes transparency, can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and is important for the health and safety of the public in general. This statement is intended to help doctors understand the purpose of open disclosure and why it matters to patients and their family/whānau. It also guides doctors on factors to consider when a situation requires that the harm is disclosed.

Maintaining clinical records is part of good medical practice. Clinical notes are an important tool for managing the patient's care, and communicating with other doctors and health professionals. This statement guides doctors on what information they should record, and for how long they should retain patients' records.

In late 2009 we asked the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) to undertake a full review of how we were performing. This is their report on how we did.

Health-related commercial organisations share some common goals with doctors: they seek to prevent, control, cure and manage diseases, or physical and mental conditions, and may conduct research to improve and advance health care. However, health-related commercial organisations can also have different and potentially conflicting goals in that generating a profit is often a principal goal whereas a doctor’s primary concern must always be the care of patients. This statement outlines our expectations when doctors interact with health-related commercial organisations, and provides guidance on recognising, assessing and managing conflicts of interest (including perceived conflicts of interest) that may arise.

Certain medicines have the potential to enhance athletic performance or an individual's physique. We set out in this statement our position on doctors who prescribe, administer and supply performance-enhancing medicines, or who assist others in doing so.

All doctors have a duty to act on their concerns about another doctor, but doctors in management roles have an extra responsibility to ensure that there are appropriate reporting procedures in place, and these procedures are known to staff who may need to use them. This statement provides guidance for doctors who are concerned about a medical colleague's conduct, performance, competence or health, and provides suggestions on what to do and who to approach.

This statement outlines the doctor's responsibility to maintain sexual boundaries with patients, includes advice on what to do if boundaries are threatened, and offers guidance on sexual relationships with former patients and with family members of patients.

Māori experience disparities in outcomes compared to the rest of the population across nearly all areas of health due to inequity in determinants of health, including access to quality health care. This document outlines Council’s position on how doctors can support the achievement of best health outcomes for Māori. It also provides guidance for healthcare organisations to support cultural safety and Māori health equity. This document should be read in conjunction with Council’s Statement on cultural safety.

We are consulting with stakeholders on the proposed introduction of a fee for the accreditation of New Zealand-based vocational training and recertification providers.

In May 2019 Council consulted with stakeholders on a revised statement and resource on cultural competence, cultural safety and achieving best health outcomes for Māori. The feedback can be found here. The final documents were completed in October 2019.

Council, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA), jointly hosted a highly successful symposium on cultural competence, partnership and health equity on 25 June 2019. The theme of the symposium was Mahia te mahi, hei painga mō te iwi, Getting the job done for the wellbeing of the people. The event aimed to investigate ways of working together to improve cultural safety in order to work towards eliminating health inequities. This booklet brings together the presentations and whakaaro shared at the symposium.

During the course of a medical career, a doctor may be involved in management or have a leadership role. This statement outlines the standards doctors are expected to meet when they take on such roles. While doctors in a leadership role have a duty to their workplace and the wider community, their first consideration must always be the interests and safety of patients.

These standards will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The standards outline the standards vocational training providers need to meet in order to be accredited to provide vocational medical training and recertification programmes. We have made revisions to update recertification, cultural safety, health equity and specialist assessment of IMG content.

Resource constraints are a reality in health care. For doctors, this often means prioritising based on clinical need and waiting lists. This statement guides doctors working in a resource-constrained environment by setting out ethical principles and practical advice.

Doctors must meet the standards laid out in the Council’s statement on Good Prescribing Practice. (The Principles for Quality and Safe Prescribing Practice are already reflected in our statement on prescribing.) This document is a helpful resource, particularly for new doctors and IMGs new to New Zealand, that can be read alongside our statement. These principles were developed jointly by 7 responsible authorities.