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Concerns have been raised with the Health and Disability Commissioner about an apparent lack of quality supervision for foreign-trained doctors.
New Zealand Council of Medical Colleges chairman Phil Bagshaw said the council had "grave concerns" about the issue.
He said foreign-trained doctors often failed to receive the oversight required to ensure patient safety, citing time and distance restraints, The Press newspaper reported.
Foreign-trained doctors wanting to get registration in New Zealand must be monitored for at least a year by senior doctors.
Dr Bagshaw said supervising doctors could be based in a different place than their foreign-trained colleagues.
Also, the foreign-trained doctor could be the supervisor's only colleague in a rural hospital, making the relationship too close to be objective.
Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson said he was "not ringing the alarm bells" on the issue but recognised there was room for improvement.
He said he would meet next month with medical groups to discuss the issue.
In February Mr Paterson completed a report into operational problems at Wanganui Hospital, including botched operations by Czech-trained obstetrician-gynaecologist Roman Hasil.
In it he identified problems with regulatory supervision in New Zealand and charged the Medical Council of New Zealand with making improvements.
A council spokesman said it was aware of the issues being presented and would work with other medical bodies to investigate how to improve supervision.
- NZPA
