FANZCA Industry Regulations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under New Zealand's Health and Disability Commissioner Act, patients have the right to refuse treatment under which specific right?
- Right 4
- Right 6
- Right 7 (Correct answer)
- Right 9
Correct answer: Right 7
Right 7 of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights guarantees the right to make an informed choice and give or withhold informed consent.
Question 2: ANZCA PS09 addresses which critical area of anaesthesia patient safety?
- Management of anaphylaxis during anaesthesia
- Guidelines on sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and interventional procedures (Correct answer)
- Anaesthesia for obstetric patients
- Post-operative nausea and vomiting management
Correct answer: Guidelines on sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and interventional procedures
ANZCA PS09 provides guidelines on the appropriate use of sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and interventional medical and surgical procedures.
Question 3: When an adverse event occurs during anaesthesia in an Australian hospital, reporting to the relevant state health department may be mandatory if the event qualifies as a:
- Near-miss incident only
- Sentinel event (Correct answer)
- Minor medication error
- Equipment malfunction with no patient harm
Correct answer: Sentinel event
Sentinel events — serious, largely preventable adverse events — trigger mandatory reporting to state/territory health authorities under various jurisdiction-specific frameworks.
Question 4: The ANZCA professional document PS29 relates specifically to which anaesthesia topic?
- Anaesthesia records and documentation
- Statement on anaesthesia care of children (Correct answer)
- Recommendations for acute pain management
- Minimum standards for conscious sedation for dental procedures
Correct answer: Statement on anaesthesia care of children
ANZCA PS29 provides a statement on anaesthesia care of children, addressing the unique considerations and standards required for paediatric patients.
Question 5: In Australia, which organisation accredits hospitals and health services, thereby influencing anaesthesia department standards?
- ANZCA
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) (Correct answer)
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- TGA
Correct answer: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)
The ACSQHC develops the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards, which accrediting bodies use to assess hospitals including their anaesthesia services.
Question 6: ANZCA's continuing professional development (CPD) program requires Fellows to complete a minimum number of CPD hours per triennium. What is the current requirement?
- 50 hours
- 75 hours
- 100 hours (Correct answer)
- 150 hours
Correct answer: 100 hours
ANZCA requires Fellows to complete a minimum of 100 hours of CPD activity per triennium as part of maintaining their fellowship and registration.
Question 7: Under Australian law, a drug interaction that constitutes an off-label use of an approved medicine means the use is:
- Illegal and subject to TGA prosecution
- Permissible but the prescriber assumes clinical and legal responsibility (Correct answer)
- Automatically covered by the manufacturer's indemnity
- Prohibited in hospital settings only
Correct answer: Permissible but the prescriber assumes clinical and legal responsibility
Off-label use is legally permissible in Australia, but the prescribing clinician bears full clinical and medicolegal responsibility for that use.
FANZCA Industry Regulations 3
Under New Zealand's Health and Disability Commissioner Act, patients have the right to refuse treatment under which specific right?