Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 30 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4991. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
7. 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Is he satisfied that the changeover on 1 September to new blood glucose meters will go well for New Zealand’s 120000 diabetics who use them and what measures has he taken to ensure that it will? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes that is what I expect. I do need to emphasise to the member that it is not a wholesale change for everybody with diabetes on 1 September. There is a 6-month transition. So every existing patient does not need to swap their existing meter until they can no longer obtain test strips for their old meter which is from 1 March 2013. I have received advice that the new meters have been thoroughly tested for accuracy and precision and these testing reports are available on the Pharmac website. I am further advised that the Diabetes New Zealand President Mrs Chris Baty has examined one of the new CareSens meters and is confident that “it is as good as diabetics have ever had”. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: What assurance can he give New Zealand diabetics that there will be sufficient supply of the new meters in New Zealand and that they will be efficiently distributed? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I am not aware of any concerns about that. We have a 6-month transition. Some of those meters are already available in New Zealand and I expect that with the significant concentration on this matter by Pharmac and others in the health service that transition should go well. That is certainly my expectation. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: What assurance can he give the Cannons Creek Porirua pharmacist Mr Kas Govind that the information required to educate his patients and staff will be available before 1 September which is Saturday because it has not arrived yet and today is Thursday? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I do not think we should have any worries about that because Pharmac is making some new online information available I think tomorrow and actually there will not be a stampede of patients to get support for monitoring this equipment. I think you will find that the functionality of the equipment is such that it will be very easy and straightforward to pick up. One of the real benefits of this new arrangement is that when people with diabetes had to get a replacement machine they had to go to their general practitioner get a prescription go down the road and get it filled by the pharmacist. Now they will be able to go directly to the pharmacist to get their replacement device. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: What support will be given to diabetics transitioning to the new meters and how does the Minister intend to monitor the effectiveness of that support? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: One way I will monitor it is by the number of questions that the member offers to me in the House. They are no doubt a reflection of who she spoke to last. But we will monitor it of course by the feedback from those— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a straight question: “How will he monitor?”. It did not require an offensive answer and that was. I know by this Minister’s class it was not that offensive— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No no. Order! I think the member’s point is fair enough. The Minister did not need to say that. It could be interpreted wrongly in an offensive way and that is unfair. I would ask the Minister to answer the straight question please. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I will be monitoring it by the feedback. No doubt those who have a problem will let us know. What I have to say is I take some comfort from the comment from the president of Diabetes New Zealand who said that she thinks the machine is “as good as diabetics have ever had” and a lot of effort is going into making sure the transition is as good as it can be over the next 6 months.