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Question 6275 (2026)
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Asked by
Ayesha Verrall
List MP · Labour Party
Question
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Are 'choosing wisely' or other demand management approaches ever undertaken with private hospitals to ensure the appropriate use of publicly funded laboratory services by these hospitals?
Answered by
Hon Simeon Brown
Member for Pakuranga · National Party · Minister of Health
Answer
I am advised that under the status quo, each laboratory is responsible for deciding what advice to provide to clinicians on the best use of testing. I am further advised however, that Health New Zealand, through its newly formed National Pathology Clinical Network, has work planned to develop a national test stewardship approach to provide national consistency, and that approach is intended to cover all labs and referrers