NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG is using patient-specific prescribing decision support from FDB OptimiseRx to support the appropriate use of medicines, and to disseminate local prescribing information and recommendations on medicines choices that has been developed by the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group (GMMMG).
A particular focus of NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG has been the implementation of a ‘Prescribing for Clinical Need & Gluten Free Foods’ Policy. The rationale for the policy is to ensure that only treatments that are clinically effective and provide a clear health benefit to patients are prescribed on NHS FP10 prescriptions, and to clearly lay out the self-care options available to patients within the Rochdale borough.
FDB OptimiseRx uses the patient’s unique medical record information to suggest where there is a more clinically or cost effective medication choice. The solution is proving to be an ideal solution to help local commissioners to communicate GMMMG policy to GPs at the point of care, such as the Clinical Need & Gluten Free Foods policy.
The CCG collaborated with the FDB OptimiseRx expert clinical team of pharmacists and researchers to develop a set of self-care messages. These self-care messages help to ensure only patients meeting certain best practice criteria, which will result in a health benefit, are prescribed treatments on prescription. Careful consideration was applied and the prescribers’ user experience was taken into account in order to avoid alert fatigue, and bring the highest level of value to prescribers and patients.
The initiative has been highly successful, and in combination with other local programmes by the Medicines Management Team, has led to an underspend on their medicines budget by approximately £1.7 million in 2016-17.
One particular example of how NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG’s Clinical Need & Gluten Free Foods Policy has been implemented successfully is around the prescribing of antihistamines such as cetirizine. In NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG, only patients that meet the criteria outlined in the Clinical Needs Policy, should be prescribed cetirizine on FP10; for instance, patients with long term conditions such as urticaria. FDB OptimiseRx has been configured to trigger a message exclusively for patients that do not have urticaria or related other long term conditions recorded within their electronic medical record.
FDB OptimiseRx is used in all 36 GP Practices across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. The CCG has found that GPs find FDB OptimiseRx valuable because the local and national guidance, such as Royal College of General Practitioners Prescribing Safety Indicators guidance, is patient-specific and is integrated within the unique patient medical record.
