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Medicines Act 1981

Dealings with medicines and medical devices - Miscellaneous provisions

49A: Statements regarding persons dependent on prescription medicines or restricted medicines

You could also call this:

"What happens if you're dependent on prescription medicines and someone shares info about you?"

Illustration for Medicines Act 1981

If a Medical Officer of Health thinks you are dependent on prescription medicines or restricted medicines, they can share information about you with certain people. This is to stop or limit the supply of these medicines to you, or to help you with your dependence. They can share this information with people like doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. If a Medical Officer of Health shares information about you, it is protected unless they do it with malice. You can find out more about what this means by looking at the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001, the Corrections Act 2004, and the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017. The Medical Officer of Health can share this information with many types of people, including those who work in hospitals, prisons, and treatment centres. They can also share it with police employees and people who sell prescription medicines. It is an offence to share this information with others, unless you are doing it as part of your job.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM55484.

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Part 2Dealings with medicines and medical devices
Miscellaneous provisions

49AStatements regarding persons dependent on prescription medicines or restricted medicines

  1. If a Medical Officer of Health has reason to believe that any person is or is likely to become dependent on any prescription medicine or restricted medicine, the Medical Officer of Health may, for the purpose of preventing or restricting the supply of prescription medicines or restricted medicines to that person, or of assisting in the cure or mitigation or avoidance of the dependence of that person, publish statements relating to that person to all or any of the members of all or any of the classes of persons set out in subsection (3).

  2. Every statement made under subsection (1) shall be privileged unless the publication is proved to be made with malice.

  3. The classes of persons referred to in subsection (1) are as follows:

  4. officers:
    1. officers and employees of Health New Zealand established by section 11 of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022:
      1. people providing, or employed in providing, hospital care (within the meaning of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001):
        1. managers of prisons within the meaning of the Corrections Act 2004:
          1. managers of treatment centres within the meaning of the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017:
            1. authorised prescribers:
              1. delegated prescribers:
                    1. Police employees:
                      1. persons who deal in prescription medicines or restricted medicines in the course of business.

                        1. Nothing in subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall limit or affect any right or duty that a Medical Officer of Health may otherwise possess to publish a statement to any person.

                        2. Every person commits an offence against this Act who, except in the course of duty as a member of a class set out in subsection (3) or as an officer or servant of the Crown, publishes any information obtained, whether by that person or any other person, from a statement made pursuant to subsection (1), or any comment on any such statement.

                        Notes
                        • Section 49A: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Medicines Amendment Act 1987 (1987 No 9).
                        • Section 49A(3)(a): substituted, on , by section 32 of the Health Sector (Transfers) Act 1993 (1993 No 23).
                        • Section 49A(3)(b): replaced, on , by section 104 of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 (2022 No 30).
                        • Section 49A(3)(c): substituted, on , by section 58(1) of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001 (2001 No 93).
                        • Section 49A(3)(d): substituted, on , by section 206 of the Corrections Act 2004 (2004 No 50).
                        • Section 49A(3)(e): replaced, on , by section 122(1) of the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017 (2017 No 4).
                        • Section 49A(3)(f): replaced, on , by section 27 of the Medicines Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 141).
                        • Section 49A(3)(g): replaced, on , by section 27 of the Medicines Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 141).
                        • Section 49A(3)(ga): repealed, on , by section 27 of the Medicines Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 141).
                        • Section 49A(3)(gb): repealed, on , by section 27 of the Medicines Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 141).
                        • Section 49A(3)(h): amended, on , by section 130(1) of the Policing Act 2008 (2008 No 72).