Source and Manual Verification Policy for NZ Medical Centre Content
A detailed policy for checking clinic details, official NZ health resources, patient-safety information and source conflicts before publishing.
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What this page covers
Official NZ Health Source Hierarchy
| Priority | Source | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinic or provider official website | Current address, phone, opening hours, enrolment, appointments, fees and service pages. |
| 2 | Healthpoint or other recognised NZ health directory | Public service details, clinic identity, accessibility notes and provider listings. |
| 3 | Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora | Public health services, Healthline, hospitals and system-level service information. |
| 4 | Ministry of Health — Manatū Hauora | National health policy, health advice, eligibility and official health-system information. |
| 5 | Healthify He Puna Waiora | Trusted, NZ-focused consumer health education and medicine information. |
| 6 | Health and Disability Commissioner | Patient rights, complaints, informed consent and provider obligations. |
Manual Verification Checklist Before Publishing
- Confirm the clinic name spelling and avoid mixing clinics with similar names.
- Check the public address against official or primary sources.
- Check the phone number, including local area format.
- Check opening hours and note that readers should call before visiting.
- Check whether enrolment, casual appointments or urgent care information is public.
- Add after-hours guidance if the clinic publishes it.
- Link to Healthline for non-emergency advice and 111 for emergencies.
- Record the last reviewed date in the page content or internal workflow.
Clinic Detail Verification Rules
Directory content should not guess medical-centre services. If a clinic page does not clearly state a service publicly, the article should say “check with the clinic” instead of inventing details. Public clinic information may include GP services, nurses, immunisations, cervical screening, minor procedures, travel medicine, repeat prescriptions, patient portals, after-hours arrangements, enrolment status and fees — but each should be verified before publication.
Health-Topic Verification Rules
For general health topics, we prefer Healthify, Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand and other reputable NZ health resources. We do not copy medical advice from forums, social media, expired PDFs or overseas sources without considering whether NZ practice differs.
When Sources Conflict
If a clinic website conflicts with an old directory listing, the clinic website usually controls. If a clinic website is outdated but a recognised health directory appears newer, the page should avoid a definitive claim and tell readers to call the clinic. If an official NZ health source conflicts with a generic overseas site, the NZ source controls for a NZ audience.
Missing information is better than wrong information. It is safer to write “call the clinic to confirm” than to publish unverified hours, fees or services.
Video and Media Policy
Videos or embedded media should be used only when they genuinely help the user. For medical topics, prefer official NZ health organisations, recognised healthcare organisations, or highly reputable patient-education sources. Do not embed sensational, unverified or fear-based medical videos.
Manual Verification Is the Core Trust Signal
For a medical directory, verified public details matter more than volume.
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