Category: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists

Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Hepatitis Foundation calls on Govt to fix IT systems ‘stuck in 20th century’

The failure to design healthcare IT systems which work together is costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars and hampering efforts to eliminate diseases, says the Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand, which is calling for the Government to take action.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: UK medical cannabis expert wants Kiwi doctors upskilled

The UK neurologist who will advise NZ doctors on prescribing medicinal cannabis, professor Mike Barnes is calling on the profession here to get itself ready to prescribe the drug.  Endorsed by the Royal NZ College of GPs, he will give talks around the country later this month. He is recognised as the leading European expert on medicinal cannabis. In 2016 Professor Barnes was tasked with writing a report for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform on the evidence for medical cannabis.The Ministry of Health last week issued proposed regulations for the use of medicinal cannabis and these are out for public consultation.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Govt to pay DHBs’ capital charge to replace old infrastructure

The government is promising tens of millions of dollars in extra funding to cash-strapped public hospitals to help them replace old buildings. It’s planning to do this by paying a contentious capital charge that it acknowledges has prevented district health boards from building new projects. But close observers say instead of paying the charge, the Government should just scrap it altogether. Health Correspondent Karen Brown reports.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Major medicines & medical devices shake-up

A rewrite of the Medicines Act, is likely to result in a new regulatory body for medical devices, as well as medicines. At the same time, the government is extending the role of its drug buying agency Pharmac, to the purchase of medical devices such as orthopaedic joints, heart valves, and surgical mesh, and MRI machines. What will these changes mean for patient safety, and for access to new treatments and technology? The Health Minister David Clark and Faye Sumner from the Medical Technology Association of New Zealand, discuss the shake-up.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NZ National Bullying Prevention Conference

Dr Charlotte Chambers, Principal Analyst (Policy & Research) from ASMS will be sharing her ground-breaking research Bullying in the New Zealand senior medical workforce: prevalence, correlates and consequences at the upcoming NZ National Bullying Prevention Conference. The conference theme is Building healthy communities of tolerance, respect, empathy and kindness.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Seminar: Commercial detriments of health (can we respond and how?)

Commercial determinants arise from the economic frameworks, forces and values that underlie and permeate all aspects of society. They are of fundamental importance for health status, inequalities, trends, and outcomes. While relevant to both communicable and noncommunicable disease, commercial determinants are most sharply obvious in some of Martin’s key research interests: alcohol, tobacco and nutrition. They are of equal importance to the need for planetary health. This talk will explore the following questions: how did the importance of commercial determinants arise, how do they relate to political determinants, and what can the public health community do to respond?

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Southern DHB: 24/7 maternity facilities in rural regions ‘not possible’

Southern DHB CEO Chris Fleming joins Checkpoint live to discuss concerns about a lack of maternity facilities in the Southland and Otago regions. This follows several incidents in recent months, including a Lumsden mother who gave birth in an ambulance on the side of the road and a Wanaka mum who gave birth on an office floor.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The business of health care depends on exploiting doctors and nurses

You are at your daughter’s recital and you get a call that your elderlypatient’s son needs to talk to you urgently. A colleague has a family emergency and the hospital needs you to work a double shift. Your patient’s M.R.I. isn’t covered and the only option is for you to call the insurance company and argue it out. You’re only allotted 15 minutes for a visit, but your patient’s medical needs require 45.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Govt’s $2b for mental health: will it work?

The centrepiece of last week’s budget was $1.9 billion to help the one in five New Zealanders who experience mental illness or significant mental distress.  New Zealand has persistently high suicide rates – particularly for young people and Maori, and widespread harm from alcohol and drug addiction.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Let’s talk about the art of living and dying well

It isn’t until my patient dies that I calculate we have known each other for 10 years, the time it took for her recurrent cancer to extinguish her life. I use the word “extinguish” deliberately, for her two young children should have had her for longer. Her devoted husband sends me a peaceful photo of her from the hospice and details of her funeral. I choke – and tell myself that I have a full clinic of patients.

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