18 DECEMBER

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

4767

Section 53 of the Act defines a QAA as an activity that is undertaken to improve the practices or competence of one or more health practitioners by assessing the health services performed by those health practitioners (whenever those services are or were performed); and includes the following acts done in the course of, or as a result of, that activity:

(i) The whole or part of any assessment or evaluation;

(ii) the whole or part of a study of the incidence or causes of conditions or circumstances that may affect the quality of health services performed by one or more of those health practitioners;

(iii) any preparation for that assessment, evaluation, or study;

(iv) making recommendations about the performance of those services; and

(v) monitoring the implementation of those recommendations.

The methodology described in the notice that the Minister of Health formally signs can incorporate a number of separate activities that collectively make up the “activity” to be protected.

Content and Quality Standards of an Application

The application form to have a QAA declared “protected” is set out below.

The form is designed to ensure that applications:

1. Provide a title and description of the QAA.

2. Outline the purposes of the QAA.

3. Sufficiently identify the group of health practitioners who are involved in the QAA.

4. Describe the method by which the activity will be carried out.

5. Identify the procedures that will be undertaken to improve the practices and competence of the health practitioners if the activity identifies problems in the provision of any health services provided by health practitioner/s.

6. Identify the processes for providing meaningful feedback to participating practitioners.

7. Provide the name, description and official address of the body or organisation under which the QAA will be carried out.

8. Provide the name and position of the person to be “responsible” for the activity.

9. Explain clearly why it is in the public interest that the activity be declared.

In addition, the nominated responsible person must undertake to provide the reports on the activity required by the Act to be provided to the Minister of Health and to the provider of health services whose employees and agents participate in the activity.

Application Form

Application for Declaration of Protected Quality Assurance Activities Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003

This application form must be used and is intended to provide sufficient information to assess whether the Minister of Health should exercise the discretion to declare a quality assurance activity (QAA) to be a protected QAA.

1 What is the title and description of the QAA?

The title and description should precisely identify the QAA sought to be declared as “protected”. The QAA can be described by one or more of the following ways:

(a) By reference to the nature of the activity;

(b) by reference to a person [or group of people] engaging in, or proposing to engage in, the activity; and/or

(c) by reference to circumstances in which the activity is being, or is proposed to be, engaged in.

2 What are the purposes of this QAA?

Describe all purposes in detail. This information is needed so that a notice can describe a QAA accurately. The purpose of the activity must fit the definition of a QAA in section 53 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

Section 53 (1) contains the following definition:

quality assurance activity –

(a) means an activity that is undertaken to improve the practices of one or more health practitioners by assessing the health services performed by those health practitioners (whenever those services are or were performed); and

(b) includes the following acts that are done in the course of, or as a result of, that activity:

(i) The whole or part of any assessment or evaluation:

(ii) the whole or part of a study of the incidence or causes of conditions or circumstances that may affect the quality of health services performed by one or more of those health practitioners:

(iii) any preparation for that assessment, evaluation, or study:

(iv) making recommendations about the performance of those services:

(v) monitoring the implementation of those recommendations.

3 Who are the participants?

This is not intended to require that participating practitioners necessarily be named. The question requests simply that there be sufficient identification of them – perhaps by memberships of colleges, or employment with a certain DHB, that their participation in the QAA can be guaranteed, and the QAA process can collectively or individually feed back to them advice of any recommendations for improved clinical competence. It is important that the participating practitioners are identifiable or group of practitioners is known from the outset of the QAA. This is to ensure that there is enough certainty as to who is participating so that the QAA methodology can work effectively. In some cases, it may be necessary to name individual participating practitioners, where this is the only way to identify them.

An application for a protected QAA may propose that it cover registered health practitioners of more than one profession. Such applications should document that the different professions who might be expected to participate generally support the application.