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Information for Patients

Why should I participate in the NZBDR?

By taking part in the NZBDR your health information will be used to identify quality care issues relating to breast device surgery. Your participation in the NZBDR contributes to long term safety monitoring of implanted breast devices with an aim to improve patient safety. This may have benefits for yourself, or for women who have surgery after you.

We retain your contact details so that you can be contacted if required, such as for completion of an optional follow-up survey, to provide information about your device at your request and to follow up if required if there are identified concerns regarding the device or a product recall. Additionally, you can join MedicAlert® Foundation to have access to a record of your surgery and breast implant details if you wish to.

If you are a patient and would like to be included in the New Zealand Breast Device Registry (NZBDR), ask the surgeon who is performing your surgery, whether or not they are contributing to the NZBDR. If they do contribute to the NZBDR, they will give you a patient information brochure at the time of your surgery. The NZBDR has ethical approval to operate as an "Opt Out" registry. This means your data will be entered into the NZBDR by participating surgeons unless you specifically request for your information not to be included ("opting out").

You can download a copy of the patient information brochure by clicking on the links below:

Click HERE to download the brochure in English
Click HERE to download the brochure in Maori

What happens to my information?

By taking part in the NZBDR your health information will be used to identify quality care issues relating to breast device surgery. We retain your contact details so that you can be contacted if required, such as for completion of an optional follow-up survey, and to provide information about your device at your request. For many people, the NZBDR will provide peace of mind that breast implant devices are being tracked long-term for adverse effects.

The NZBDR does not release any personal information other than to your surgeon/clinician or your healthcare facility. Your details may be linked with national health and death registries to ensure the information we hold is accurate and complete, or for research purposes.

Registry reporting and research

The New Zealand Breast Device Registry (NZBDR) is a public health registry that records information about breast device surgery in New Zealand. Participation in the NZBDR promotes optimal patient health outcomes. The NZBDR aims to identify and report on possible trends and complications associated with breast device surgery, such as rates of revision surgery and performance of the different types of implants and devices. Reports to health agencies and healthcare professionals may include information on surgical techniques and practice to help identify ways to optimise patient outcomes. The NZBDR aims to facilitate best practice for surgeons and health care facilities caring for patients receiving breast implants.

Patient data in the NZBDR will be included in public reports. Registry data will be used for safety analysis, annual reporting, audit and research, but only after all identifiable patient information has been removed. All data is aggregated and de-identified prior to reporting, to maintain your privacy. This means that any published research, analysis or reports arising from the NZBDR will contain no identifiable information about you.

Any requests for access to data in the NZBDR must comply with specific protocols and procedures to ensure patient privacy. All research requests will have prior ethical approval.

Compliance and data protection

All health information is held in a highly secure database that is housed within MedicAlert® Foundation's Servers. MedicAlert® Foundation is audited and certificated with the SOC 2 Type 2 Information Security Framework and ISO: 27001.

The NZBDR complies with all relevant privacy laws. The registry is only accessed by approved clinicians, NZBDR or MedicAlert® Foundation Personnel.