What’s in this issue?
PRIMARY CARE CLINICAL DIGEST
AUGUST 18 2023
1. Primary and Community Care Changes for COVID-19 Star�ng October 1 2023
2. RNZCGP Updated COVID-19 Advice in Response to Li�ing of Restric�ons
3. Revised Aotearoa Immunisa�on Register (AIR) Cutover Timing
4. GP Survey on How GPs Make Job Choices
5. Call for Applica�ons for Vaccines that Protect Against COVID-19
6. Consulta�on on Lomus�ne Discon�nua�on and Proposal to Widen Access to Temozolomide
7. Phenobarbitone Noumed 30 mg Tablet Update
8. Pharmaceu�cal Schedule Despatch
9. Rights Based Approach to Healthcare for Intersex Children and Young People, and their Whānau
10. Developing a Model for Primary Care Quality Improvement Success: A Compara�ve Case Study in Rural, Urban and Kaupapa Māori Organisa�ons
11. Quarterly Shingles Email to 65-Year Olds
12. Collabora�ve Aotearoa Conference August 29-30 2023
13. Correc�on to July Tender No�fica�on
14. Updates for Pharmacists in General Prac�ce August 11 2023
15. Supply Updates for Pharmacists August 11 2023
16. Top Weekend Viewing
Primary and Community Care Changes for COVID-19
Starting October 1 2023
See attached guidance information (x2)
• Te Whatu Ora is transi�oning to a post-pandemic management of COVID-19, alongside other communicable diseases, and wish to share the revised Model of Care for COVID-19 from October 1 2023. This funded model is planned to run un�l February 29 2024, with final confirma�on of the end date coming a�er a review of u�lisa�on in December 2023.
• The government announced key changes to COVID-19 se�ngs on August 14, including the removal of the last remaining mandates regarding isola�on and mask wearing. These changes do not impact on the Model of Care as currently funded un�l September 30, nor do they affect the implementa�on of the new Model of Care to begin October 1.
• Atached is informa�on on the following:
o Presenta�on describing the COVID-19 Model of Care changes, including other areas such as PPE supply and tes�ng. Click here to watch the presenta�on - password is: careinthecommunity
o Funding Guidance for Primary Care Model of Care for COVID-19, October 2023
o Any ques�ons, please submit via this link htps://forms.office.com/r/rrjsN1nhXM by August 28 2023
RNZCGP Updated COVID-19 Advice in Response to Lifting of Restrictions
Revised Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) Cutover Timing
o Live Q&A sessions being held Thursday August 31 6.006.45pm
(Teams Live - join here using this link) and Wednesday September 6 6.00-6.45pm
(Teams Live - join here using this link)
• RNZCGP updated its advice to members about managing COVID19 in response to the government’s announcement that all restric�ons were li�ed at midnight on Tuesday August 15 2023.
• See the RNZCGP webpage here for more informa�on.
• The Aotearoa Immunisa�on Register (AIR) Programme is planning for the ‘cutover’ of the Na�onal Immunisa�on Register (NIR) and the COVID-19 Immunisa�on Register (CIR) into the AIR in November 2023.
• This is a revised date following consulta�on feedback. The HPV Primary Screening Programme, who AIR shares stakeholders with, is being launched in September. Introducing both of these large changes in the same month would have posed delivery risks and added complexity for the sector.
• ‘Cutover’ refers to the AIR milestone of migra�ng the data from NIR and CIR and shi�ing all users over to use the AIR. The outcome of cutover is that:
o COVID-19 will be recorded either via the AIR Vaccinator portal or in Prac�ce/Pa�ent Management Systems (PMS). Payment for COVID-19 vaccines administered will con�nue to be claimed via a record being entered into the AIR. Note there is currently no change to the way payments for other funded vaccines are claimed.
o All systems, including PMS’, that currently connect to NIR will be reconnected to AIR (we are working with so�ware vendors to enable this).
o All vaccina�ons for all age groups will be able to be recorded in the AIR.
o New repor�ng tools will be enabled for both analy�cal and opera�onal reports.
• Leading into cutover there will be training plans in place for system users. The Na�onal Immunisa�on Programme’s regular newsleter will provide ongoing updates. Please contact immunisa�on@health.govt.nz to subscribe.
• Following cutover, the AIR Programme will con�nue working with providers, vendors and stakeholders to deliver addi�onal func�onality.
• Please refer to the AIR website for more informa�on and ongoing updates. If required, the AIR team can be reached at air.engagement@health.govt.nz.
• GP members of GPNZ’s GP networks are invited to participate in a survey exploring how GPs make job choices.
GP Survey on How GPs Make Job ChoicesCall for Applications for Vaccines that Protect Against COVID-19
• Insights from this survey will be shared with GPNZ’s board and executive. Those insights should be valuable for informing GPNZ’s work on behalf of its members, including its workforcerelated work.
• The survey should take 15-25 minutes to complete, with responses required by 11:59 pm on Thursday August 31 2023. The first 500 respondents to submit a valid completed survey will qualify for a $150 payment in recognition of their time commitment, and the first 350 such respondents will also enter a draw to win one of five Apple iPad Pro 11 inch (or equivalent) tablets.
• The survey is being conducted by Professor Riccardo Scarpa, Associate Professor Peter Tait, and Dr Richard Meade. They are undertaking their research as independent experts, to understand how GPs trade off different pay and conditions, using an objective methodology that has been applied widely in overseas health sector job choice studies (but to their knowledge, has not been applied for New Zealand health workforces).
• The survey data is to be used as one of multiple bases for informing an objective assessment of fair and reasonable pay and conditions for self-employed midwives who are members of the New Zealand College of Midwives. The New Zealand College of Midwives will only have access to the results of the researchers' analysis (which will be based on anonymised data), not the survey data itself.
• The survey is being administered by an independent survey company, Survey Engine, and is subject to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, regarded as being the strictest data privacy and security regulation in the world.
• To complete the survey:
o Please use the original survey link included in this message below,
o Please complete the survey in one sitting and on one device; and
o Please complete the survey on a tablet, laptop, or desktop PC.
• For survey-related inquiries, please email: peter.tait.economist@gmail.com
• To commence your survey response, please click on this survey link
• Pharmac are calling for funding applica�ons for vaccines from pharmaceu�cal suppliers who manufacture vaccines that protect against COVID-19. This will help Pharmac plan for future procurement and supply approach and they are interested in applica�ons for all vaccine technology pla�orms, for example mRNA, protein sub-unit, and combina�on products.
Consultation on Lomustine Discontinuation and Proposal to Widen Access to Temozolomide
• Please follow this link to the call for funding applica�ons on the Pharmac website.
• Applica�ons must be submited through theapplica�on portal –PharmConnect by 5pm on December 18 2023.
• Pharmac has been made aware of a global discon�nua�on of lomus�ne (CeeNU), a medicine used to treat brain cancers. Pharmac is proposing to widen access to temozolomide for the treatment of gliomas from October 1 2023 to help meet the health needs of those affected by this discon�nua�on. Please follow this link to the consulta�on.
• To provide feedback, please submit it in wri�ng by 5pm Friday August 24 2023 to consult@pharmac.govt.nz
Phenobarbitone Noumed 30 mg Tablet Update
• Some people have had difficulty accessing the Noumed Phenobarbitone 30 mg tablets. Pharmac have been in contact with the wholesalers and can confirm the Noumed Phenobarbitone 30 mg tablets are now available for supply.
• If you have any difficul�es accessing Noumed Phenobarbitone 30 mg tablets from your wholesaler, please email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz
• Please visit the phenobarbitone brand change no�fica�on for further informa�on. If you have any ques�ons, please email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz
Pharmaceutical Schedule Despatch
• This is a summary of the changes to be announced in next month’s Community Schedule (Sec�on B) and Hospital Schedule (Sec�on H):
o View the changes in next month’s Community Schedule
o View the changes in next month’s Hospital Schedule
• The complete changes will be published in the Online Schedule and Online Hospital Medicines List (HML) around the August 23 and are effec�ve from the following month.
• Any ques�ons about these lis�ng changes or the Pharmaceu�cal Schedule in general, email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz.
Rights Based Approach to Healthcare for Intersex Children and Young People, and their Whānau
• As a follow-up to last week’s ar�cle in the Clinical Digest, this is a no�ce of the Future Procurement Opportunity for the service components comprising the rights-based approach to healthcare for intersex children and young people, and their whānau.
• The FPO can be found here
• If you have any enquiries, please send them to Shirley.lammas@nzhp.health.nz
Developing a Model for Primary Care Quality
Improvement Success: A Comparative Case Study in Rural, Urban and Kaupapa
Māori Organisations
See attached article
• Please see the ar�cle that has been published ‘online early’ in the Journal of Primary Health Care.
• Jane Cullen would like to thank all the busy primary care teams who assisted with the research.
• For more details about the Journal of Primary Health Care, please visit their website at www.publish.csiro.au/journals/hc
Quarterly Shingles Email to 65-Year Olds
• Star�ng next week, a na�onwide email communica�on will be sent to approximately 9,000 65-year-olds about being immunised against shingles. The target audience includes eligible people contactable via email who have recently turned 65 (to raise awareness) or are soon to turn 66 (as a reminder).
• This communica�on is the start of a regular quarterly email that will reach people as they ‘age-in’ and encourage them to book and receive their two free doses of the vaccine, Shingrix. Prior email campaigns have seen posi�ve uptake rates off the back of communica�ons, therefore an�cipated volumes from this campaign may see in the range of 800 people vaccinated
Collaborative Aotearoa
Conference August 29-30 2023
Correction to July Tender
Notification
Updates for Pharmacists in General Practice
August 11 2023
View online
• Collabora�ve Aotearoa are holding their conference August 2930 2023 inn Wellington on Catalysing Change to Delivery Equity for Whānau.
• See here for more informa�on.
• Please follow this link to the Pharmac website for the correc�on to July 2023 Tender No�fica�on.
Notification:
• Decision to enter into new supply agreements for funded vaccine in the Na�onal Immunisa�on Schedule – follow this link
Supply/Recall issues:
• Vigabatrin (Sabril) 500 mg tablet – has been recalled, see sec�on 29 of the Medicines Act 1981and vigabatrin (Sabril) 500 mg tablet: Recall and supply issue no�ce for more informa�on
• Methylphenidate ER 54 mg and 36 mg tablets – refer to Pharmacy Procedures Manual - Sec�on 7.14 for guidance/requirements and Pharmac website for further informa�on.
• Octreo�de long-ac�ng 10 mg and 20 mg injec�ons – the funded brand is temporarily changing from Octreo�de Depot Teva to the previously funded brand, Sandosta�n LAR. Octreo�de Depot Teva will be available for resupply early to mid-2024. For more informa�on Details are on our website or email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz if you have any ques�ons.
• For up-to-date information about supply issues please check the Pharmac website
Expressions of Interest for Pharmac’s Advisory Committees:
• If you are interested in being involved in Pharmac’s clinical advice network, see Pharmac website, please send an email to advisorycommittees@pharmac.govt.nz outlining your specific clinical area(s) of interest.
Supply Updates for Pharmacists
August 11 2023
View online
• See the atached no�ce from Pharmac covering:
o New medicine no�ces
o Updated issues
o Resolved issues
Top Weekend Viewing
o Recent decisions
o Open consulta�ons
o Monthly updates
• This weekend’s viewing is centred around Aotearoa, all were filmed here and Men in Kilts especially, is a good reminder of what our amazing country has to offer and what makes it unique.
o Men in Kilts Season 2 (Neon) – Two Scotsmen, Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (Outlander) journey through Aotearoa to experience extreme sports, culture, food, wine and more! Watch trailer
o Sweet Tooth (Ne�lix) – On a perilous adventure in a postapocalyp�c world, a boy who's half-human and half deer searches for a new beginning with a gruff protector. Watch trailer
o The Gone (TVNZ+) – When a young Irish couple vanishes from a small town in the North Island of Aotearoa, an Irish Detec�ve teams up with a Kiwi Detec�ve to find them. Watch trailer