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Patients' rights & ethics

The Cartwright Inquiry led to a major overhaul of health care ethics in New Zealand. Ethics committees were reformed, a Health Commissioner to hear complaints was appointed, a Code of Rights drafted and a system of patient advocates was inaugurated throughout in country. Many other reforms, such as a Health Information Privacy Code, followed on the reforms of the Cartwright Inquiry. We take particular interest in ownership of health records, and the implications of the use of a unique identifier and linkages between records.

1. Ethics committees

• Herpes study putting poor women at risk - WHW Dec 2006
• New technology steps around the ‘Right to Life’ debate - WHW Dec 2006
• Ethical dilemmas over frozen embryos - WHW June 2006
• Stem cell research is a women’s issue - WHW June 2006
• Women’s Health Action SUBMISSION ON Guidelines on Using Cells from Established Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines for Research - March 2006
• Submission on NEAC Discussion Documents - November 2003
• New NECAHR members - WHW Sept 2002
• Draft operational standard for Health & Disability Ethics Committees (analysis of the proposed new standard by chair of Wellington Ethics Committee and chair of the Regional Ethics Committees Chairs Group), Sharron Cole, WHW Sept 2001
• Draft Operational Standard for Health & Disability Ethics Standard for Health & Disability Ethics Committees, WHA Submission, August 2000
• Ethics of ethics committees in the spotlight (report of status of ethics committees, criticisms of ethics committees at Gisborne Inquiry), WHW Sept 2000
• The future of ethics committees - where are they going? (report of future of ethics committees with restructuring of health sector, concerns about independence), Penny St John, WHW Feb 2000
• Blow to national ethics functions (national ethics committee disbanded), WHW June/July 1999
• Ethics committee survive review (results on review of ethics committee that proposed reducing their number by 50%), WHW Dec 1998
• Ethics committees come under Official Information Act (national ethics committee tells regional ethics committee they come under OIA), WHA, March/April 1997
• Access to information held by ethics committees (report of efforts by WHA to ensure public access to research protocols submitted to regional ethics committees), WHW Nov 1996
• Public to have access to research protocols (report that national ethics committees says regional committees must give public access to research protocols after request by WHA), WHW Sept 1995
• New national ethics committee (membership of new committee), WHW Dec 1994
• New national ethics structure disappoints consumer groups (comment on lack of power given to national ethics committees), WHW June 1994
• Ethical committees in disarray (report on status of ethics committees after disbanding of area health boards, review of national standard), WHW Dec 1993

2. Patients' rights - general

• Pharmaceutical funding for patient advocacy groups - WHW June 2006
• Submission on Discussion Document: HIV Screening in Pregnancy - January 2004
• Submission on Current Revised Draft Standard on Informed Consent, Medical Council of New Zealand, 2001
• Patients' rights in the private health system (report of the case of medical injury in the private sector, and discussion of few avenues for redress), WHW Dec 1992
• Teaching medical students to perform pelvic exams (report of a pilot scheme to teach) pelvic exams to medical students using gynaecological training associates), WHW Dec 1992

3 Health records

• Sacred secrets meet cyberspace - WHU Novmeber 2006
• McGoogan report provides reality check on progress on cervical screening - WHU April 2002
• Health information at fingertips - WHU Jan 2002
• Law changes for auditing the National Cervical Screening Programme: How far should they go? - Sandra Coney, Executive Director, Women's Health Action Trust Statement on Submission paper
• Health Information & Technology Management Plan, Submission of WHA, 2000
• Who's reading about me?, (article about various health databases, electronic records / systems, and the MOH's WAVE project), Penny St John, WHW Dec 2000
• Who's been looking at my file? Medical records and centralised databases (report on efforts by WHA to get public discussion on proposals to introduce electronic record sharing), Sandra Coney, WHW June 1998
• Privacy Commissioner scrutinises medical record databases (report on Privacy / Commissioner's report Medical record databases - just what you need?. This followed complaints from WHA and others regarding plans to introduce such systems), WHW June 1998
• Records to be kept for 10 years (report on new law on retention of health records), WHW March/April 1997
• Confidentiality of patient communications and records - What you must know, Warwick Gendall (report on paper to National Medico-Legal Conference, August 1992), WHW Oct/Nov 1992

4. Health Commissioner and patient advocates

5. Cartwright Inquiry

6. Cartwright Inquiry follow-up

7. Direct-to-consumer advertising

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