---
title: "Clinical support services"
canonical: "https://research.refined.site/space/Research/48333595/Clinical%20support%20services"
format: markdown
---
### Clinical support services (for research and related activity)

As healthcare staff, we have access to information which may be sensitive in nature. There is a need for those teams who give out this information to know a process of approval has occurred before information is released. Therefore, requests for clinical information for research, audit and related activities are screened through the Research & Knowledge Centre.

### Clinical Support Services Sign-off Form

This form will be emailed to the researcher/primary contact following host site capacity and capability review of the Single Research Application Form (SiRAF). Authorisation is required from the manager for all resources required for the research, including:

- Clinical Records & Coding
- Costing Team
- Health Information Analysts
- Echocardiology Laboratory
- Laboratory Services Outpatient Services
- Outpatient Services
- Pharmacy (any research protocols that include the administration of medicines to patients must be reviewed by a Te Whatu Ora-Waitematā pharmacist)
- Radiology
- Surgical Pathology (Read fee structure updated Jul 2022)

> ℹ️ Emails are acceptable as electronic sign-off

**Exception:** none of the services listed above will be involved eg. all data will be collected from Clinical Portal.

At any one time in the Health New Zealand Waitematā District, there can be over 200 active research and audit projects taking place.  The Clinical Records team has limited resource to support audit requests.  So clinicians conducting research and audits need to have reasonable expectations about the number of paper records that can be pulled at any one time and also be aware that there is a cost to the Health New Zealand Waitematā District to retrieve archived records. Clinicians should negotiate access to records for research with the Records & Coding Manager as far in advance as possible.

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###### Last reviewed June 2026   
Author: Kathryn Tennant