Listen Now: 
A ground-breaking Māori general practitioner says GPs need to help patients question the treatments they are offered.
David Tipene-Leach chairs Māori medical practitioners' rōpu Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa, which has issued a report critical of the Council of Medical Colleges' Choosing Wisely campaign.
He says while Te Ohu Rata supports the aim of the campaign to encourage people to avoid unnecessary and inappropriate clinical interventions, it needed to be modified to reach Māori communities.
Māori patients often find it hard to question the medical advice they are given, which affects their understanding and their commitment to courses of treatment.
"You have to go a little bit further to make sure the shy, the under-privileged, the under-resourced and those with less access get equal opportunity to ask those questions and have those discussions and share in the decision-making," Professor David Tipene-Leach says.
Māori health professionals need resources that are simple and realistic, as well as socially and culturally engaging for Māori.
!["p_facebook"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/facebook.jpg")
& !["p_twitter"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/twitter.jpg")
Copyright © 2020, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
