Social media terms and conditions

Find out the terms of use you need to follow when interacting with Pharmac on social media.

Our purpose on social media

We use social media to engage with people interested in our organisation and the medicines we fund in the DHB hospital and community settings in New Zealand.

We welcome your comments, questions and feedback on Pharmac’s social media accounts:

What to expect from us

We try to reply to all questions posted. However we won't enter discussions about politics, or provide private or confidential information.

Social media is not a platform for clinical advice – please get in touch with your pharmacist or doctor, or contact Healthline for free on 0800 611 116. 

Posts will be accepted in English or te reo Māori and we will do our best to respond in kind.

Response times on social media

We monitor accounts from 8.30am–5pm on business days and occasionally outside these hours where needed. We try to reply to questions within 24 business hours.

Moderation of social media accounts

We moderate our social media accounts.

We encourage discussion and sharing, but may occasionally remove content that:

  • is not relevant
  • is offensive
  • breaches someone’s privacy or is otherwise unlawful
  • has political bias
  • refers to commercial activity including advertising
  • may affect our neutrality
  • doesn't comply with a platform's rules, standards, or guidelines.

If you have any concerns about content on our social media accounts, contact us via enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz

Removing comments and banning users

Pharmac will block or remove any comments and posts that we consider breach these terms of use.

If a user repeatedly breaches this policy, we may block that user from posting in the future.

What we expect from you

  1. Be respectful of other users of Pharmac’s social media accounts.
  2. Stay on topic. Don't upload content or post a comment that is unrelated to the purpose of the social media account.
  3. Don't use language or content that:
    1. appears to be spam
    2. is discriminatory
    3. contains insults or put downs
    4. is likely to be offensive, inflammatory or provocative
    5. contains potentially harmful advice
    6. is not accurate.

      This includes making comments targeted towards Pharmac AND other users on this page. We will not tolerate it and these comments will be hidden or deleted at Pharmac's discretion.

  4. Don't use language or content that is unlawful or encourage others to do so. This includes but is not limited to:
    1. defamation
    2. breaching privacy
    3. breaching another person’s intellectual property rights (such as copyright)
    4. condoning illegal activity
    5. contempt of court.
  5. Don't impersonate or falsely claim to represent a person or an organisation.
  6. Don't attempt to log on using another user’s account.
  7. Don't make any commercial endorsement or promotion of any product, service or publication.

Third party social media platform terms and conditions

You're expected to comply with any third party social media platform’s terms and conditions:

Content from outside Pharmac

We may 'like’, retweet, and post information from outside Pharmac that we think is relevant. However, we do not endorse that source or guarantee the information is correct.

If you have any concerns about content we've shared or referenced, email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz

We do not guarantee the accuracy or quality of content users outside of Pharmac post on our pages.

Read our full disclaimer

Protecting your privacy (and the privacy of others)

Don't share any of your own, or anyone else’s, personal information on Pharmac’s social media accounts.

This includes but is not limited to:

  • patient information
  • addresses
  • phone numbers
  • email addresses
  • other online contact details

relating either to you or other individuals.

Read Pharmac’s full privacy statement

Giving permission

By posting publicly on Pharmac's social media accounts, you grant us permission to reuse that content inside that account. This can include comments, photos or videos.

Permission will be sought via an individual request to the person who made the comment if Pharmac wishes to utilise the content outside of the social media account.

Read Pharmac’s full copyright statement

Pharmac staff on social media

Pharmac staff may engage in discussion on social media as private citizens or as representatives of Pharmac.

Any views or opinions expressed on social media by staff acting in their private capacity are those of the author, not the views or opinions of Pharmac.

Read our full disclaimer

Who to contact

If you have any questions about Pharmac on social media, email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz