New Zealand Legislation: Regulations

In this Schedule, protected quality assurance activities means—

• (a) the Otago District Health Board Clinical Audit Activity; and

• (b) the Otago District Health Board Morbidity and Mortality Review Activity; and

• (c) the Otago District Health Board Peer Review Activity.

The objective of each of the protected quality assurance activities is to improve the practices and competence of health practitioners engaged in the activity by assessing the health services performed by those health practitioners.

The protected quality assurance activities are based on information derived from health practitioners who provide health services on behalf of the Otago District Health Board and who are—

• (a) employed by the Otago District Health Board; or

• (b) external personnel authorised by the Otago District Health Board to provide health services.

The Otago District Health Board Clinical Audit Activity involves—

• (a) conducting clinical audits on specific topics to review the clinical practices of multi-disciplinary health practitioner teams, including review of—

  • (i) diagnostic procedures; and

  • (ii) treatment decisions; and

  • (iii) resource allocations and usage; and

  • (iv) patient care processes; and

  • (v) outcomes of treatment and care for patients; and

• (b) comparing the results of clinical audits with relevant internal and external benchmarking standards; and

• (c) identifying clinical practices that do not conform with the benchmarking standards referred to in paragraph (b); and

• (d) introducing initiatives aimed at improving clinical practice to better ensure the benchmarking standards referred to in paragraph (b) are achieved.

The Otago District Health Board Morbidity and Mortality Review Activity involves the holding of meetings to—

• (a) discuss processes and practices that result in an outcome for patients that may, but need not, be an adverse outcome; and

• (b) make recommendations on how the health practitioners who are engaging in the activity can improve their performance so as to—

  • (i) improve the quality of care they provide; and

  • (ii) reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes; and

• (c) facilitate and monitor the implementation of any such recommendations.

The Otago District Health Board Peer Review Activity involves—

• (a) holding peer review meetings to review the competence of health practitioners who are engaging in the activity; and

• (b) making recommendations on how any, or all, of the health practitioners engaging in the activity may improve their performance so as to—

  • (i) improve the quality of care they provide; and

  • (ii) reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes.