Medical Council of New Zealand on proposed changes to the statement, ‘When another person is present during a consultation’

DPA have given feedback to the Medical Council of New Zealand on proposed changes to the statement, ‘When another person is present during a consultation’.

We believe it is imperative that both health professionals and patients are aware of the role of others present during any consultation, provide consent for another person being present, and that all are clear on their respective role and boundaries.

We are largely supportive of the changes but have asked for some changes to improve clarity. These are:

• The removal of reference to interpreters from the section referring to when someone else attends a consultation on behalf of the patient.  The text specifically says that an interpreter is there ‘for both the patient and the doctor’, so it should only be in the section titled ‘Interpreters’.
• Refusal of students being present during a consultation should not negatively impact the person refusing by postponing the appointment

Read the full DPA submission to the Medical Council (Word Doc)