Newsletters

Breakfast with a show! On both days of the Symposium, we'll serve breakfast alongside great talks. Your only challenge will be deciding which to go to.On Saturday morning you have a choice of: Winter readiness: Respiratory management essentials, with James Wethasinghe Moving our A into G for CKM health, with Walaa Saweirs Sunday's offering: Cardiovascular risk after COPD exacerbations in NZ and the role of triple therapy, with Jeff Harrison and William Good The 6th Anniversar

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest. The Digest has links to key evidence of interest, with access to new content arranged by topic. You can forward this newsletter to others who may be interested in receiving it. They can register and subscribe here . You can also access other recent issues of the digest here. If you have any queries, please email us at  library@health.govt.nz Article Access For articles that aren't open access, contact your H

Kia ora ,The countdown is on to International Rare Disease Day on 28 February, which also marks the beginning of Rare Disorders Month - and we’re excited to see how you will Glow Up and Show Up for Rare  this March! We've made it super easy to join the campaign with our new fundraising platform. Simply sign up  to create your own fundraising page and decide how you would like to #GlowUpShowUp for rare. From morning teas to movie nights, or perhaps even a personal challenge -

Kia ora koutou, OUR LATEST TE WHATA KURA UPDATE – FEBRUARY 2026 We are pleased to share our latest Te Whata Kura newsletter, attached to this email. It includes updates on febrile neutropenia and maternal guidelines, as well as links to promotional and support materials.  You can access Te Whata Kura here:   https://tewhatakura.nz   Please share this newsletter widely across your networks, including clinicians, committees, organisations, and professional bodies involved with

The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) set the minimum quality standard that medicinal cannabis products and ingredients must meet before they can be supplied in New Zealand. Importers, manufacturers, and suppliers must apply for assessment and provide evidence to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency to verify that their products meet the minimum quality standard. KIKUYA Alta Oil [FS 10:10], has been verified as meeting the minimum quality standa

A systematic review in The Lancet 1  outlined the cardiometabolic issues with antidepressants.There were a few surprises: None had significant QT interval issues.  Systolic BP went up with amitriptyline and fluoxetine and down with nortriptyline.  Weight loss was observed with bupropion, sertraline, citalopram, paroxetine, and venlafaxine.  Weight gain was found with amitriptyline 1.6 kg and mirtazapine 0.87 kg. Heart rate increased (beats per minute) to 13.77 for nortriptyli

The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) set the minimum quality standard that medicinal cannabis products and ingredients must meet before they can be supplied in New Zealand. Importers, manufacturers, and suppliers must apply for assessment and provide evidence to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency to verify that their products meet the minimum quality standard. Aurora Half Moon has been verified as meeting the minimum quality standard. More in

Allevia Hospitals is one of New Zealand’s largest private surgical hospital providers, with leading medical specialists.  Here's their team for the Symposium, ready to provide you with thorough and timely updates across a wide range of topics – from understanding perimenopausal bleeding patterns, weight-loss medication, managing nasal symptoms, to diagnosing and treating Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES): Wal Baraza | Jacob Munro | Craig Ball | Nadya York |

Less than 8 weeks to go!  Goodfellow Symposium 2026 In the meantime, here are our latest webinars and podcasts:  Adult ADHD: From diagnosis to long-term management WEBINAR 3 February, 7.30pm: Join Psychiatrist David Codyre who will provide practical guidance on continuing ADHD care once treatment has begun.  Register here   Ovarian cancer: diagnosis to treatment WEBINAR 10 February, 7.30pm: Join Gynae-Oncologist Cecile Bergzoll on offering practical guidance to ovarian cancer

Te Whata Kura is the new national antimicrobial guideline. It includes revised guidance around: Cellulitis, irrespective of patient BMI, 1000mg Flucloxacillin QID with food for 5 days. Cystitis, uncomplicated: Nitrofurantoin (Micronised version trade name Macrobid), so as not to confuse with the regular Nitrofurantoin and underdose the patient (100 mg BD for 5 days with food). Adult unilateral otitis media and no severe symptoms no antibiotics needed. Adult bilateral otitis m

We're starting the year with a flurry of premium content for you, and if you're thinking about coming to the Goodfellow Symposium in March, today is the last day to nab a bargain:  Goodfellow Symposium 2026 Medical ethics PODCAST episode: Professor Angela Ballantyne discusses some commonly encountered medical ethics cases in general practice.  Episode here   Adult ADHD: From diagnosis to long-term management WEBINAR 3 February, 7.30pm: Join Psychiatrist David Codyre who will

In this study of 200 patients with recurrent AF, patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either regular caffeinated coffee consumption or complete abstinence from coffee and caffeine for 6 months 1 . The consumption group was encouraged to drink at least one cup daily, while the abstinence group avoided all caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and other caffeine products. Baseline intake was 7 cups per week in both groups. During follow-up, the median intake was 7 (

In this RCT, 382 children aged 5-15 years with asthma using budesonide 50 μg-formoterol 3 μg, two actuations as needed, equivalent to 1 puff Symbicort 100/6 or Vannair 100/6, were compared to salbutamol 100 ug as needed. 1 The primary outcome was asthma attacks as rate per participant per year. The annualised rate of asthma attacks was lower in the budesonide-formoterol group than in the salbutamol group, cluster-adjusted rates 0·23 versus 0·41 per participant per year (rela

People in New Zealand aspire to have a health care system that delivers world-class cancer care; a system that provides timely access to high-quality services designed around their specific needs and those of their whānau. Te Aho o Te Kahu | Cancer Control Agency undertakes national initiatives to improve cancer outcomes for people in New Zealand and to assemble and disseminate cancer data and information to inform decision-making and service delivery.  As part of our ongoing

In a paper by Walsh et al, 1  there was concern expressed that excess body weight (EBW) contributes to many cancers in New Zealand, compounding health inequities with higher proportions of EBW-attributable cancers within Māori and Pacific populations. Pacific peoples had the highest population attributable fraction (PAF) (11.8%), and this was highest among Pacific females (16.1%). Māori also had a higher PAF (6.9%) than European/Other (4.5%). Early detection and prevention ar

Coming up in CPD:  Tricky question... What do Ralph Stewart, Samantha Newman, Ben Chan, Hannah Giles, Ryan Paul, Buzz Burrell (and about 60 others) all have in common? Here's the answer   Post-partum hypertension; practical management WEBINAR 2 December: Dr Jamie Kitt, dual accredited Cardiology & General Internal Medicine Consultant on how to achieve optimal blood pressure control in women puerperium.  Register here   Cannabis-based products The March Medicines Amendment Act

Smarter consults, better care: What to expect at the 2026 Symposium Need a fast and simple toolkit for mental health consults? Sophie Ball can help with that. Insomnia: a very common complaint within general practice. Alex Bartle will walk us through medication options and strategies to deliver some behavioural treatments within a short consultation. Prostate cancer care is changing fast. Discover how to lead smarter testing, engage in better conversations, and follow up more

A 2025 BMJ review found that a range of exercises were helpful for knee osteoarthritis 1 . The findings demonstrated that exercise was effective at improving pain, function, gait performance, and quality of life in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. There is a lack of studies comparing different types of exercise. None of the exercise interventions resulted in more adverse safety events than the control group, suggesting that exercise therapy is a safe treatment approach.

Coming up in CPD:  Goodfellow Symposium 2026 21/22 March 2026: Practical, evidence-based clinical skills you can use next week:  Check it out here .  Asthma update: latest treatments and practical tips WEBINAR 18 November: Angela Moran reviews the NZ Asthma guidelines and discusses the types of asthma and which treatments may be appropriate for these, including biologic therapies.    Register here   Updates in gout and weight management WEBINAR 25 November: Join Lisa Stamp, R