Medical Advice for COVID Infected People Isolating at Home
Chris Johnston made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was partially successful.
From: Chris Johnston
Dear Ministry of Health,
Please provide all records on the advice, instructions or policy the Ministry of Health provides directly or indirectly to people (hereafter referred to as "patients") that:
a) Have had a positive test for COVID19 and
b) Are required or advised to isolate at home (eg until well or needing hospital admission).
For guidance, this request includes (in the context of the above) any of the following:
1) Standard (eg brochures, policy papers, regulations) advice, instructions, or policy given to communicated to patients - i.e. individual communications to patients is excluded.
2) Any advice, instructions or policy given to District Health Boards (DHBs)/medical professionals about what medical advice or care that they should or should not provide to patients
3) Policy about medical advice, or advice/instructions that are directive in nature and may affect the advice/instructions of the local medical professional or the actions of the patient.
4) Both "what to do" and "what not to do" - positive and negative
5) Drugs (prescription or over the counter), fluids, physical activity etc that might be policy or mentioned (in a positive or negative advice or instruction).
6) Since 1 Oct 2020 inclusive.
7) Communications received by the MoH on what to communicate to patients, or DHBs.
8) How to count or record events - eg definitions for reporting qualitatively or quantitatively
This request excludes:
i) Individual communications to patients
ii) Advice given by the patient's GP or local medical professional or DHB to the patient
iii) Any internal DHB communication
Please order chronologically (by date/time of the record). Emails can be included once based on the date/time of the last email in the chain.
If you need any clarification please ask at the earliest opportunity. As a guide for grey areas, the objective here is to understand the history of how the MoH has advised that patients treat themselves (or be treated), in the home with primary care physicians - in the early stages of COVID (or a mild version not requiring hospital level care).
Yours faithfully,
Chris Johnston
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Thank you for your Official Information Act (the Act) request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. We
will endeavour to acknowledge your request as soon as possible. Further
information about COVID-19 can be found on our
website: [1]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
In accordance with the Act, we'll let you know our decision within no more
than 20 working days. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can
use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [2]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any questions while we're processing your request, please let
us know via [3][email address]
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
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References
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2. http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
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4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for official information. The Ministry's
reference number for your request is: H202116351.
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Ministry will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the
timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. If
we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we will
notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [2][email address]
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Johnston <[FOI #17598 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 2:21 pm
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Medical Advice for COVID Infected
People Isolating at Home
Dear Ministry of Health,
Please provide all records on the advice, instructions or policy the
Ministry of Health provides directly or indirectly to people (hereafter
referred to as "patients") that:
a) Have had a positive test for COVID19 and
b) Are required or advised to isolate at home (eg until well or needing
hospital admission).
For guidance, this request includes (in the context of the above) any of
the following:
1) Standard (eg brochures, policy papers, regulations) advice,
instructions, or policy given to communicated to patients - i.e.
individual communications to patients is excluded.
2) Any advice, instructions or policy given to District Health Boards
(DHBs)/medical professionals about what medical advice or care that they
should or should not provide to patients
3) Policy about medical advice, or advice/instructions that are directive
in nature and may affect the advice/instructions of the local medical
professional or the actions of the patient.
4) Both "what to do" and "what not to do" - positive and negative
5) Drugs (prescription or over the counter), fluids, physical activity etc
that might be policy or mentioned (in a positive or negative advice or
instruction).
6) Since 1 Oct 2020 inclusive.
7) Communications received by the MoH on what to communicate to patients,
or DHBs.
8) How to count or record events - eg definitions for reporting
qualitatively or quantitatively
This request excludes:
i) Individual communications to patients
ii) Advice given by the patient's GP or local medical professional or DHB
to the patient
iii) Any internal DHB communication
Please order chronologically (by date/time of the record). Emails can be
included once based on the date/time of the last email in the chain.
If you need any clarification please ask at the earliest opportunity. As
a guide for grey areas, the objective here is to understand the history of
how the MoH has advised that patients treat themselves (or be treated), in
the home with primary care physicians - in the early stages of COVID (or a
mild version not requiring hospital level care).
Yours faithfully,
Chris Johnston
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #17598 email]
Is [4][Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[5]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[6]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
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References
Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #17598 email]
4. mailto:[Ministry of Health request email]
5. https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
6. https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
hide quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for official information. The Ministry's
reference number for your request is: H202116374.
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Ministry will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the
timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. If
we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we will
notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [2][email address]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Chris Johnston <[3][FOI #17598 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 14:20
To: OIA Requests <[4][email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Medical Advice for COVID Infected
People Isolating at Home
Dear Ministry of Health,
Please provide all records on the advice, instructions or policy the
Ministry of Health provides directly or indirectly to people (hereafter
referred to as "patients") that:
a) Have had a positive test for COVID19 and
b) Are required or advised to isolate at home (eg until well or needing
hospital admission).
For guidance, this request includes (in the context of the above) any of
the following:
1) Standard (eg brochures, policy papers, regulations) advice,
instructions, or policy given to communicated to patients - i.e.
individual communications to patients is excluded.
2) Any advice, instructions or policy given to District Health Boards
(DHBs)/medical professionals about what medical advice or care that they
should or should not provide to patients
3) Policy about medical advice, or advice/instructions that are directive
in nature and may affect the advice/instructions of the local medical
professional or the actions of the patient.
4) Both "what to do" and "what not to do" - positive and negative
5) Drugs (prescription or over the counter), fluids, physical activity etc
that might be policy or mentioned (in a positive or negative advice or
instruction).
6) Since 1 Oct 2020 inclusive.
7) Communications received by the MoH on what to communicate to patients,
or DHBs.
8) How to count or record events - eg definitions for reporting
qualitatively or quantitatively
This request excludes:
i) Individual communications to patients
ii) Advice given by the patient's GP or local medical professional or DHB
to the patient
iii) Any internal DHB communication
Please order chronologically (by date/time of the record). Emails can be
included once based on the date/time of the last email in the chain.
If you need any clarification please ask at the earliest opportunity. As
a guide for grey areas, the objective here is to understand the history of
how the MoH has advised that patients treat themselves (or be treated), in
the home with primary care physicians - in the early stages of COVID (or a
mild version not requiring hospital level care).
Yours faithfully,
Chris Johnston
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #17598 email]
Is [6][Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[7]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
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References
Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #17598 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[FOI #17598 email]
6. mailto:[Ministry of Health request email]
7. https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
8. https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
hide quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for official information, received on 16
November 2021 for:
"All records on the advice, instructions or policy the Ministry of Health
provides directly or indirectly to people (hereafter referred to as
"patients") that:
a) Have had a positive test for COVID19 and
b) Are required or advised to isolate at home (eg until well or needing
hospital admission).
For guidance, this request includes (in the context of the above) any of
the following:
1) Standard (eg brochures, policy papers, regulations) advice,
instructions, or policy given to communicated to patients - i.e.
individual communications to patients is excluded.
2) Any advice, instructions or policy given to District Health Boards
(DHBs)/medical professionals about what medical advice or care that they
should or should not provide to patients
3) Policy about medical advice, or advice/instructions that are directive
in nature and may affect the advice/instructions of the local medical
professional or the actions of the patient.
4) Both "what to do" and "what not to do" - positive and negative
5) Drugs (prescription or over the counter), fluids, physical activity etc
that might be policy or mentioned (in a positive or negative advice or
instruction).
6) Since 1 Oct 2020 inclusive.
7) Communications received by the MoH on what to communicate to patients,
or DHBs.
8) How to count or record events - eg definitions for reporting
qualitatively or quantitatively
This request excludes:
i) Individual communications to patients
ii) Advice given by the patient's GP or local medical professional or DHB
to the patient
iii) Any internal DHB communication.”
We are contacting you to clarify part of your request. Could you please
explain further what you are looking for regarding part 7 of your request:
7) Communications received by the MoH on what to communicate to patients,
or DHBs.
Additionally, if you are able to specify what events you are interested in
for part 8, this may enable the Ministry to provide you with the
information you are looking for.
Please respond by COB 7 December 2021 so that we can consider your
clarification in our response to your request.
We look forward to receiving your response.
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [1][email address]
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
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distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear OIA Requests,
Thank you for your request for clarification on Part 7 and 8.
Part 7
For example a Minister or staff member of their office may have requested that a communication be initiated, and/or provide direction/scope/specify theme/review/feedback on what might be communicated.
The MoH may have also received advice from other entities on the messages and guidance to be communicated - Eg Pharmac, a university academic, or even police/justice.
Part 8
An event is a person with COVID in the primary care setting (Eg their home). there is presumably a data dictionary of definitions that is relevant, or guidance to GPs or other local professionals that defines how they are to record aspects of these events over the course of their treatment or recovery. Eg what is the length of time defined as - from date of test or date of assessed first exposure or date of staying at home?… until when (last neg test date or date released).
There will be other aspects of the health record or how national statistics are counted though. I am looking for the definitions of how any statistics from this area are to be interpreted given the instructions at the point of data collection (or calculation/aggregation).
Please let me know if you have any other aspects that you would like to clarify.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Thank you for your Official Information Act (the Act) request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. We
will endeavour to acknowledge your request as soon as possible. Further
information about COVID-19 can be found on our
website: [1]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Please be advised that due dates for requests received from 29 November
2021 onwards take into account the following periods:
Christmas (25 December 2021)
Summer Holidays (25 December to 15 January)
New Year's Day (1 January 2022)
Day after News Year's Day (2 January 2022)
If you'd like to calculate the due date for your request, you can use the
Ombudsman's online calculator here: [2]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any questions while we're processing your request, please let
us know via [3][email address]
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
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by the Ministry of Health's Content and Virus Filtering Gateway
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References
Visible links
1. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
2. http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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From: OIA Requests
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Kia ora Chris,
Please find attached a response to your official information act request.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [1][email address]
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
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by the Ministry of Health's Content and Virus Filtering Gateway
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References
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear OIA Requests,
Thank you so much for the information that you supplied. I do appreciate it and the effort that you have taken.
I notice that some information was not searched for but on the basis on the information that as provided I can narrow down my search for you.
First a comment in three parts -
1) I notice that there are clinical guidelines for care in the hospital but very few for a member of the public who might be searching for advice on the MoH's website. Most of the advice provided to people is focused on regulations, process or logistics. The best advice the MoH provided was here: www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/c/... under the "How to manage your symptoms" section. I will refer to this as "Home Advice" below.
2) In contrast there is a long detailed list of clinical treatment guidelines for people in hospital that is found here: https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/... upon visiting this page: www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and... . I refer to this as "Hospital Advice" below.
3) In the context of the Omicron variant, the government giving up on elimination and accepting widespread infection, and the volumes of people who will be seeking information, it seems a recipe for bottlenecks for the advice for the public to be "stay safe at home and contact your health professional". The advice for self management of symptoms on the web does seem relatively hidden and your response indicates that there are zero MoH pamphlets on the range of symptoms - in any language.
The refinement of my OIA is below - drilling with specificity on Parts 2, 4, 5 and 7 in my original OIA but informed from your response just received (so starting from the example of the Hospital Advice):
a) I would like all versions of the pdf referred to as the Hospital Advice above - or any equivalent document (i.e. similar COVID clinical advice from the MoH under a different document name) - back to the first version or the start of the COVID pandemic.
b) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why no anti-virals other than Remdesivir are allowed to be used outside a clinical trial (see Anti-Viral Therapy section on Page 6 of the Hospital Advice).
c) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why Remdesivir is allowed to be used outside a clinical trial.
d) The list of the anti-virals that the MoH is aware of that are allowed to be used inside clinical trials as mentioned in the Hospital Advice.
e) Can you clarify why the Home Advice says that there are no specific treatment for COVID while the advice here says that there are treatments: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise... Specifically - does the MoH agree that "There is no specific treatment for COVID-19." as stated in the Home Advice?
f) Is there any MoH advice to GPs that "There is no specific treatment for COVID-19." as mentioned in the Home Advice.
g) The list of all drugs with anti-viral properties that the MoH allows to be used by members of the pubic at home (across all diseases). It may be easier to direct me to a list of drugs with anti-viral properties on some form of schedule - eg via prescription vs over the counter?
h) Which of the anti-virals in (g) are allowed by the MoH to be prescribed by GPs for COVID-19 treatment at home?
i) Which of the anti-virals in (g) is the MoH aware of may have some beneficial effect on (or are under study for the treatment of), COVID-19.
In order to answer (g) to (i) it may be easier to create a table with 4 columns - Drug, answer to (g), (h) and (i) as Yes/No. Where the answer can be completed with less work then I leave that option open to the MoH. I am simply explaining what is acceptable to me and would be clear to the readers of this OIA on FYI.org.nz.
j) Any records the MoH has on why Remdesivir cannot be prescribed by GPs.
In addition, I notice that he material for the public at home or health care professional refers to the ringing of health care phone lines and call centres. These appear to have been excluded from the MoH's reply.
k) All records used by call centres for the provision of advice to people that phone them for COVID-19 management. These might be decision/diagnosis trees, or clinical guidelines and health pathway type documents.
l) Policy documents that describe the scope and role of the centres. For example: what advice should be given and the nature of the advice that should not be given - and why.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for official information. The Ministry's
reference number for your request is: H202117890.
Please be advised that due dates for requests received from 29 November
2021 onwards take into account the following periods:
Christmas (25 December 2021)
Summer Holidays (25 December to 15 January)
New Year's Day (1 January 2022)
Day after News Year's Day (2 January 2022)
Your request has been logged and you can expect a reply no later than 04
February 2022 as required under the Official Information Act 1982.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. If
we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we will
notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [1][email address]
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Johnston <[FOI #17598 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 19 December 2021 10:15 pm
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your official information act request
(ref_H202116351)
Dear OIA Requests,
Thank you so much for the information that you supplied. I do appreciate
it and the effort that you have taken.
I notice that some information was not searched for but on the basis on
the information that as provided I can narrow down my search for you.
First a comment in three parts -
1) I notice that there are clinical guidelines for care in the hospital
but very few for a member of the public who might be searching for advice
on the MoH's website. Most of the advice provided to people is focused on
regulations, process or logistics. The best advice the MoH provided was
here:
[2]http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
under the "How to manage your symptoms" section. I will refer to this as
"Home Advice" below.
2) In contrast there is a long detailed list of clinical treatment
guidelines for people in hospital that is found here:
[3]https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
upon visiting this page:
[4]www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-information-health-professionals/covid-19-advice-all-health-professionals/
. I refer to this as "Hospital Advice" below.
3) In the context of the Omicron variant, the government giving up on
elimination and accepting widespread infection, and the volumes of people
who will be seeking information, it seems a recipe for bottlenecks for the
advice for the public to be "stay safe at home and contact your health
professional". The advice for self management of symptoms on the web does
seem relatively hidden and your response indicates that there are zero MoH
pamphlets on the range of symptoms - in any language.
The refinement of my OIA is below - drilling with specificity on Parts 2,
4, 5 and 7 in my original OIA but informed from your response just
received (so starting from the example of the Hospital Advice):
a) I would like all versions of the pdf referred to as the Hospital Advice
above - or any equivalent document (i.e. similar COVID clinical advice
from the MoH under a different document name) - back to the first version
or the start of the COVID pandemic.
b) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why no
anti-virals other than Remdesivir are allowed to be used outside a
clinical trial (see Anti-Viral Therapy section on Page 6 of the Hospital
Advice).
c) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why Remdesivir is
allowed to be used outside a clinical trial.
d) The list of the anti-virals that the MoH is aware of that are allowed
to be used inside clinical trials as mentioned in the Hospital Advice.
e) Can you clarify why the Home Advice says that there are no specific
treatment for COVID while the advice here says that there are treatments:
[5]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Specifically - does the MoH agree that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as stated in the Home Advice?
f) Is there any MoH advice to GPs that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as mentioned in the Home Advice.
g) The list of all drugs with anti-viral properties that the MoH allows to
be used by members of the pubic at home (across all diseases). It may be
easier to direct me to a list of drugs with anti-viral properties on some
form of schedule - eg via prescription vs over the counter?
h) Which of the anti-virals in (g) are allowed by the MoH to be prescribed
by GPs for COVID-19 treatment at home?
i) Which of the anti-virals in (g) is the MoH aware of may have some
beneficial effect on (or are under study for the treatment of), COVID-19.
In order to answer (g) to (i) it may be easier to create a table with 4
columns - Drug, answer to (g), (h) and (i) as Yes/No. Where the answer can
be completed with less work then I leave that option open to the MoH. I
am simply explaining what is acceptable to me and would be clear to the
readers of this OIA on
[6]http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
j) Any records the MoH has on why Remdesivir cannot be prescribed by GPs.
In addition, I notice that he material for the public at home or health
care professional refers to the ringing of health care phone lines and
call centres. These appear to have been excluded from the MoH's reply.
k) All records used by call centres for the provision of advice to people
that phone them for COVID-19 management. These might be
decision/diagnosis trees, or clinical guidelines and health pathway type
documents.
l) Policy documents that describe the scope and role of the centres. For
example: what advice should be given and the nature of the advice that
should not be given - and why.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Chris,
Please find attached a response to your official information act request.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
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From: OIA Requests
Tēnā koe Chris
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) to the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) on 19 December 2021, which
was a follow up on your previous request (H202116351 refers).
You specifically requested:
a. I would like all versions of the pdf referred to as the Hospital
Advice above - or any equivalent document (i.e. similar COVID clinical
advice from the MoH under a different document name) - back to the
first version or the start of the COVID pandemic.
b) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why no
anti-virals other than Remdesivir are allowed to be used outside a
clinical trial (see Anti-Viral Therapy section on Page 6 of the Hospital
Advice).
Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why Remdesivir is
allowed to be used outside a clinical trial.
d) The list of the anti-virals that the MoH is aware of that are allowed
to be used inside clinical trials as mentioned in the Hospital Advice.
e) Can you clarify why the Home Advice says that there are no specific
treatment for COVID while the advice here says that there are treatments:
[1]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Specifically - does the MoH agree that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as stated in the Home Advice?
f) Is there any MoH advice to GPs that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as mentioned in the Home Advice.
g) The list of all drugs with anti-viral properties that the MoH allows to
be used by members of the pubic at home (across all diseases). It may be
easier to direct me to a list of drugs with anti-viral properties on some
form of schedule - eg via prescription vs over the counter?
h) Which of the anti-virals in (g) are allowed by the MoH to be prescribed
by GPs for COVID-19 treatment at home?
i) Which of the anti-virals in (g) is the MoH aware of may have some
beneficial effect on (or are under study for the treatment of), COVID-19.
In order to answer (g) to (i) it may be easier to create a table with 4
columns - Drug, answer to (g), (h) and (i) as Yes/No. Where the answer can
be completed with less work then I leave that option open to the MoH. I am
simply explaining what is acceptable to me and would be clear to the
readers of this OIA on
[2]http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
j) Any records the MoH has on why Remdesivir cannot be prescribed by GPs.
In addition, I notice that he material for the public at home or health
care professional refers to the ringing of health care phone lines and
call centres. These appear to have been excluded from the MoH's reply.
k) All records used by call centres for the provision of advice to people
that phone them for COVID-19 management. These might be decision/diagnosis
trees, or clinical guidelines and health pathway type documents.
l) Policy documents that describe the scope and role of the centres. For
example: what advice should be given and the nature of the advice that
should not be given - and why.
The Ministry is still considering parts a - l of your request and will
endeavour to respond to you as reasonably practicable. However, the
Ministry is responding to the second part of your request below. The
Ministry sincerely apologises for the delay.
SECOND REQUEST 14/01/22:
Please provide a dataset split by inpatient admission vs outpatient and
emergency room which are coded with ICD-10 code T50.Z95A or U12.9
(separately - not combined). This could be generated from the national
minimum discharge dataset submitted by NZ hospitals - or similar.
Please aggregate by month (by admission date) for the last 10 years or as
long as ICD-10 has been used - whichever is shorter.
Please split by District Health Board of admission/event.
Aggregates should be number events, min stay in days, average length of
stay in days, and max length of stay in days.
So the columns expected are:
- ICD-10 code - T50.Z95A or U12.9
- DHB
- Year
- Month
- Event Type - In Patient, ER, Outpatient
- Events
- Min LOS
- Avg LOS
- Max LOS
We would expect LOS for ER and Outpatient only events to be zero but
please explain if this is not the case.
Where:
- an Inpatient stay starts with an ER event please count this as an ER
event. If this is not possible please count as it comes out of the
database and state the methodology / classification used.
- an event is coded as both T50.Z95A and U12.9 please classify this as
U12.9.
- an Inpatient event and Outpatient events occur please count these
separately.
This part of your request is refused under section 18(g)(i) as the
information requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no grounds
for believing it is held by another agency subject to the Act.
Please note, the hospital data the Ministry collects is coded using
ICD-10-AM, i.e. the Australian modification of ICD-10. The codes supplied
are from ICD-10-CM, the Clinical modification of ICD-10. This is a US
version of ICD-10. The Australian Modification does not have any of the
codes supplied.
Those events would likely be coded in ICD-10-AM to: T50.9 Poisoning by
other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
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2. http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear OIA Requests,
Please advise when you expect to reply because it appears that the MoH has exceeded the statutory deadline for an OIA response.
Please correct me if you believe that I am reading the situation incorrectly.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: OIA Requests
Thank you for your Official Information Act request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
In accordance with the Act, we'll let you know our decision within no more
than 20 working days. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can
use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. This
means we may take some time in responding to your request. The Ministry
regularly updates information about the COVID-19 situation and publishes
OIA responses considered to be of public interest:
[2]https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
Please also refer to the Unite Against Covid-19 website for copies of
papers, minutes, and key advice for the decisions the Government has made
relating to COVID-19.
Sometimes we may need to clarify aspects of a request. You can expect to
hear from us soon if that is the case here.
Ngā mihi,
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [3][email address]
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From: OIA Requests
Tēnā koe Chris
Thank you for your follow up request under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) on 19 December
2021 (H202116351 refers).
On 4 February 2022, the Ministry advised you it was still considering
parts A- I of your request and would endeavour to respond to you as
reasonably practicable. Please find this response below. We apologise for
any inconvenience this delay may have caused.
You specifically requested:
1. I would like all versions of the pdf referred to as the Hospital
Advice above - or any equivalent document (i.e. similar COVID clinical
advice from the MoH under a different document name) - back to the
first version or the start of the COVID pandemic.
All previous updates of this documents are publicly available here:
[1]http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.health....
b) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why no
anti-virals other than Remdesivir are allowed to be used outside a
clinical trial (see Anti-Viral Therapy section on Page 6 of the Hospital
Advice).
c) Any records the MoH holds that relate to the decision why Remdesivir is
allowed to be used outside a clinical trial.
j) Any records the MoH has on why Remdesivir cannot be prescribed by GPs.
In August 2020, Pharmac entered into an agreement with Gilead Sciences,
Australia & New Zealand (Gilead) for the supply of a limited quantity of
remdesivir (Veklury) for the treatment of patients hospitalised with
moderate to severe COVID-19. This stock has now been exhausted.
As a result of the COVID-19 delta variant outbreak in New Zealand, and to
prepare for future COVID-19 outbreaks, Pharmac has secured further supply
of remdesivir for use in New Zealand. Remdesivir will not be listed on the
Pharmaceutical Schedule; however, it will be available for DHB Hospitals
to order via pharmaceutical wholesaler Onelink
([2]www.onelink.co.nz/Login.aspx).
Remdesivir is not approved by Medsafe for use in New Zealand, meaning it
would continue to be prescribed and used in accordance with section 25 of
the Medicines Act 1981, available
here: [3]www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/riss/unapp.asp.
Further information about Remdesivir may be available from Pharmac
[4]https://pharmac.govt.nz/. There is specific information
here: [5]https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resourc...
d) The list of the anti-virals that the MoH is aware of that are allowed
to be used inside clinical trials as mentioned in the Hospital Advice.
A full list of clinical trials in New Zealand is publicly available here:
[6]https://clinicaltrials.health.nz/
e) Can you clarify why the Home Advice says that there are no specific
treatment for COVID while the advice here says that there are treatments:
[7]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Specifically - does the MoH agree that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as stated in the Home Advice?
f) Is there any MoH advice to GPs that "There is no specific treatment for
COVID-19." as mentioned in the Home Advice.
As COVID-19 is a viral illness, there is no specific treatment. Most
people who develop COVID-19 will recover fully while isolating at home or
in managed isolation and quarantine and they do not require
hospitalisation. Supportive treatment with fluid, rest, and antifever
medication is useful in aiding recovery and can be successfully managed by
a general practitioner (GP). A GP is best placed to provide care for those
who are recovering from COVID-19 at home, as they are familiar with
underlying conditions that may impact recovery and can manage these
appropriately.
For patients who are hospitalised with serious cases of COVID-19, there is
currently one Medsafe approved medication which is dexamethasone. It is an
anti-inflammatory medication that is indicated in the treatment of
COVID-19 for patients who require supplemental oxygen therapy. You can
find the Medsafe datasheet for the approved medicine here:
[8]www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/d/Dexmethsonetab.pdf.
Medical practitioners are permitted to use any medicine for a particular
patient in their care at their discretion; however, unapproved medicines
have not been evaluated by Medsafe for safety and efficacy. If your
healthcare professional chose to prescribe other agents to treat a patient
with COVID-19 it would be their responsibility to ensure that they are
aware of any safety issues and that they communicate the risks and
benefits to their patients. See
[9]www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/medicine-approval-process.asp.
The Ministry is aware that therapeutics will have a role to play in
managing the pandemic for people who are not vaccinated. Medicines and
other ways to treat and manage patients who have COVID-19 are being
continually developed and researched. You can find more information on
COVID-19 treatments on the Ministry website
at: [10]www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/about-covid-19.
However, as previously advised, the Ministry does not treat patients and
therefore cannot provide guidance regarding the treatment protocols that
is in the hospitals, general practitioners or district health boards.
g) The list of all drugs with anti-viral properties that the MoH allows to
be used by members of the pubic at home (across all diseases). It may be
easier to direct me to a list of drugs with anti-viral properties on some
form of schedule - eg via prescription vs over the counter?
This information is publicly available here:
[11]www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/class/clascon.asp.
h) Which of the anti-virals in (g) are allowed by the MoH to be prescribed
by GPs for COVID-19 treatment at home?
At present, the only approved medication for COVID-19 is dexamethasone
tablets. For your reference, medical practitioners are permitted to use
any medicine for a particular patient in their care at their discretion;
however, unapproved medicines have not been evaluated by Medsafe for
safety and efficacy. If your healthcare professional chose to prescribe
other agents to treat a patient with COVID-19 it would be their
responsibility to ensure that they are aware of any safety issues and that
they communicate the risks and benefits to their patients. See
[12]www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/medicine-approval-process.asp.
i) Which of the anti-virals in (g) is the MoH aware of may have some
beneficial effect on (or are under study for the treatment of), COVID-19.
This information is publicly available here:
[13]www.medsafe.govt.nz/medicines/medicines-landing.asp.
In order to answer (g) to (i) it may be easier to create a table with 4
columns - Drug, answer to (g), (h) and (i) as Yes/No. Where the answer can
be completed with less work then I leave that option open to the MoH. I am
simply explaining what is acceptable to me and would be clear to the
readers of this OIA on
[14]http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
In addition, I notice that he material for the public at home or health
care professional refers to the ringing of health care phone lines and
call centres. These appear to have been excluded from the MoH's reply.
k) All records used by call centres for the provision of advice to people
that phone them for COVID-19 management. These might be decision/diagnosis
trees, or clinical guidelines and health pathway type documents.
This information is publicly available here:
[15]www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus.
l) Policy documents that describe the scope and role of the centres. For
example: what advice should be given and the nature of the advice that
should not be given - and why.
Under section 12(2) of the Act, requests for information must be made with
due particularity. As your request is currently worded, the Ministry is
unable to provide a response to this part of your request as the Ministry
is unable to interpret your request for information.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [16][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[17]Ministry of Health information releases
[18]Unite against COVID-19
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Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
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distribute or copy this message or attachments.
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References
Visible links
1. http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.health....
2. https://www.onelink.co.nz/Login.aspx
3. http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/riss/un...
4. https://pharmac.govt.nz/
5. https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resourc...
6. https://clinicaltrials.health.nz/
7. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
8. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datash...
9. http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/medi...
10. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
11. http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/class/c...
12. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/med...
13. http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/medicines/med...
14. http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
15. http://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel...
16. mailto:[email address]
17. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
18. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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