Practice Resources
Know which source answers which question
Questions in this domain turn on the authority behind a resource, not on how familiar it feels.
- New Zealand Formulary (NZF) and NZF for Children - independent, NZ-specific prescribing and dosing information: indications, cautions, monitoring. First stop for clinical dosing questions.
- Medsafe - regulator of medicines and medical devices: data sheets, consumer medicine information, medicine classification, and the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) for reporting adverse reactions.
- PHARMAC - the Pharmaceutical Schedule: funding, restrictions, Special Authority criteria, and the Community Pharmacy Services Agreement that sets contracted pharmacy services.
- Pharmacy Council - Code of Ethics, practice standards and guidance: the benchmark for professional conduct.
- Legislation - Medicines Act 1981, Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, HPCA Act 2003.
- Clinical pathway tools (HealthPathways, BPAC) for local referral and management guidance.
Worked example
A prescription arrives for a medicine funded only under a narrower Special Authority indication. The clinical question - is the dose right? - is answered from the NZF. The funding question - can we claim? - from the Pharmaceutical Schedule and its Special Authority criteria. The legal question - can this be dispensed on this prescription? - from the Medicines Act and Council guidance. Answering all three from the data sheet alone is the common failure.
Traps
Treating 'Medsafe approved' and 'PHARMAC funded' as synonyms; defaulting to overseas references such as the BNF for NZ funding or legal status; quoting a data sheet as if it were independent clinical advice; forgetting that funding criteria change and the online Schedule is the only current version.