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Health Act 1956

Infectious and notifiable diseases

74C: Priorities for medicines

You could also call this:

"Who gets medicines first during a disease outbreak"

The Director-General can make rules about who gets medicines first when there is a disease outbreak. You need to know that the Director-General is in charge of making these rules. The rules are to make sure people who need the medicines the most get them.

When there is a disease outbreak and an epidemic notice is in place, the Director-General can make a notice that says how medicines should be given out. You have to follow the priorities and conditions in the notice if you are giving out medicines. This means you must give the medicines to the people who need them the most.

The notice will say who it applies to, such as all doctors or just some doctors. It can be about any medicine, not just the ones used to treat the disease that is outbreaking. The Director-General must make the rules available to the public, and can do this by putting them on the Internet.

In this case, a medicine is any substance used to prevent, treat, or make a disease better. A notice made by the Director-General is secondary legislation, which means it has to follow certain rules, you can learn more about these rules in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM307236.

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"Labs must report certain diseases during an epidemic"

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"When there's a disease outbreak, a health officer can redirect planes to a safer location in New Zealand."

Part 3Infectious and notifiable diseases

74CPriorities for medicines

  1. The Director-General may at any time devise policies determining the priorities with which supplies of medicines that are under the control of the Crown or a Crown entity are to be dispensed during outbreaks of quarantinable diseases.

  2. While an epidemic notice is in force,—

  3. the Director-General may, if satisfied that there is or is likely to be a shortage of medicines because of the outbreak of the disease stated in the epidemic notice, in accordance with a policy devised under subsection (1) for the medicines, by notice require persons administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying stated medicines that are under the control of the Crown or a Crown entity to administer, dispense, prescribe, or supply them in accordance with priorities, and subject to any conditions, stated in the notice; and
    1. every person administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying medicines stated in the notice that are under the control of the Crown or a Crown entity must—
      1. comply with the priorities; and
        1. comply with any conditions, stated in the notice.

        2. A notice under subsection (2) must state whether it applies to—

        3. all persons administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying the medicines concerned; or
          1. particular classes of person administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying the medicines concerned; or
            1. particular persons administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying the medicines concerned.

              1. A notice under subsection (2) may relate to any medicine, whether or not it can be used in relation to the disease stated in the epidemic notice.

              2. The Director-General must publish every policy; but may do so by making it available on the Internet.

              3. In this section, medicine means any substance used or capable of being used to prevent, treat, or palliate a disease, or the symptoms or effects of a disease.

              4. A notice under subsection (2) is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

              Notes
              • Section 74C: inserted, on , by section 9 of the Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
              • Section 74C(2)(a): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).
              • Section 74C(7): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).