Commissioner to name providers.

District health boards, rest-homes, private hospitals, and other health providers which breach the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights will be routinely named under a policy announced by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) Ron Paterson last month. Individuals who breach the Code will remain anonymous, unless the Commissioner has public safety concerns, or if the individual has frequently breached the Code or has refused to comply with HDC recommendations.

The new naming policy is set to lift the "veil of secrecy" that has shrouded complaints and disciplinary procedures against health professionals. The HDC said he had been concerned for some time that, despite being one of the first countries to adopt a system of co-regulation (ie by professional registration authorities and an independent Commissioner), New Zealand had adopted a more secretive approach to complaints and discipline than other countries using systems of traditional professional self-regulation. "This secrecy is undermining public confidence in the health professions and disciplinary proceedings. The public is currently being kept in the dark about information that may influence a person's choice of practitioner or facility and there is an increasing public desire for openness," Paterson said.

Providers will have opportunity to comment

The new naming policy came into effect on July 1. Group providers will be routinely named unless identification would not be in the public interest or would unfairly compromise the privacy interests of an individual. These providers wilt have the opportunity to comment on the naming decision when the HDC's provisional opinion is issued.

Individual providers will remain anonymous in the majority of cases. If an individual provider has been named, they will have the chance to comment on the naming decision when the HDC's provisional opinion is issued.