Monday Pānui 7 September 2026

In Today’s Pānui	Point of Care Pregnancy Test Recall Funded influenza vaccination for children aged 6 months to under 5 years AI in Healthcare Research Covid-19 Back Payment Online GP Booking Enhancements Now Live
Point of Care Pregnancy Test Recall	Point of Care Pregnancy Test Product Recall: Due to Small Risk of False Positive hCG Clearview hCG Cassette (20microgram/mL), Innovacon hCG One Step Pregnancy Test Device In situations where an unexpected positive test result is obtained, seek clinical and laboratory confirmation. See HNZ doc attached for further details and specific product numbers. Also see Abbott product notice here.
Funded influenza vaccination for children aged 6 months to under 5 years	The recent Public Health Advisory confirming that all children aged 6 months to under 5 years are now eligible for a funded influenza vaccination came with limited notice. Given the increased demand, some practices may experience short-term vaccine supply pressures, despite advice from Health NZ that there is adequate vaccine supply nationally. We appreciate your efforts to respond to this change and support families seeking vaccination for their children. If you are experiencing supply issues or would like to discuss this further, please contact Shanaz at shanaz@aucklandpho.co.nz. Public Health Advisory - Flu vaccine funding for 6m - 5years The New Zealand flu season started late and may go on longer than usual—it’s not too late for people to get vaccinated. The predominant virus is influenza A subclade K; the flu vaccine is a good match to currently circulating flu viruses. Any questions can be sent to the NPHS Immunisation team immunisation@tewhatuora.govt.nz
AI in Healthcare Research	Are you interested in the use of AI in healthcare? A new research study on AI-driven clinical decision support systems (AI-CDSS) wants registered doctors and nurses to share their views The research is being conducted by a University of Canterbury master’s student and aims to determine what influences a healthcare professional’s intention to use AI-CDSS Results will inform the design and implementation of AI-CDSS and support healthcare organisations in developing strategies to improve its adoption The online survey takes just 10 minutes to complete. Participation is anonymous and if you’re keen to contribute, scan the QR code.
COVID-19 Back-Payments	The COVID-19 back-payments for the uplift on base fee from 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026 will be paid this week. These back payments relate to any payments made during this period under the stand-alone COVID-19 agreements, prior to COVID-19 moving into the PHO services agreement.
Online GP Booking Enhancements Now Live	Consumers can now view and compare available online GP appointments across participating providers through the enhanced Health NZ Online GP Care service The service helps connect people with care at a time that suits them For more information, visit Online GP Care or if you have questions email  DigitalPrimaryCareProgramme@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz

Barbara Stevens | Tumu Whakarae / CEO