33246 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

33246 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What impact, if any, has expanded community ultrasound access had on ovarian cancer diagnosis timelines or stage at diagnosis?

Hon Simeon Brown: I am advised that community referred radiology has enabled consistent access to pelvic ultrasound across the country. Evidence-based criteria allow general practitioners, urgent care physicians, and primary and urgent care nurse practitioners to refer patients directly for pelvic ultrasound to support the rapid diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I am further advised that it is too soon to assess the impact of expanded ultrasound access on stage of ovarian cancer diagnosis. Such an assessment would rely on analysis of a sufficiently large cohort of patient information from the New Zealand Cancer Registry.