PremiumChris KnoxData Editor and Head of Data Journalism·NZ Herald·3 Aug, 2026 05:00 PM6 mins to readChair of GP advocacy group General Practitioners Aotearoa, Buzz Burrell, was taken aback by Health NZ’s tactics when told of them by the Herald. “It almost puts every doctor on notice that every patient coming in could be a secret shopper” he said. A senior official at Health NZ used a personal email address to pose as a patient in order to collect information about a GP’s business venture.
Health NZ has told the Herald a direct approach to the doctor would have been more appropriate, and claimed there was no intention to
