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Medicine Optimisation Schemes

Overview

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Summary: Medicine Optimisation Schemes are set out by the ICS, and updated annually. This is done to achieve the greatest value from prescribing funding.

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Contents:

Overview
What is Medicines Optimisation?
The SEL Medicines Optimisation Committee
Medicines Optimisation Schemes

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Intended Users: Pharmacists

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Aim: To safely, and effectively use medication, to enable best possible outcomes

What is Medicines Optimisation?

Medicines optimisation is a change in the way patients are supported from a medication point of view. The goal is to ensure the right patients, get the right choice of medicine, at the right time.

Getting the most from medicines is becoming increasingly important, as our patients become older, and more have complex multimorbidities. A huge amount of spending is used on medication which isn’t taken as intended, and can lead to preventable hospital admissions.

NICE definition of Medicines Optimisation (2015): ’a person‑centred approach to safe and effective medicines use, to ensure people obtain the best possible outcomes from their medicines. […] Shared decision‑making is an essential part of evidence‑based medicine, seeking to use the best available evidence to guide decisions about the care of the individual patient, taking into account their needs, preferences and values’

The SEL Medicines Optimisation Committee

The South East London Integrated Medicines Optimisation Committee was established in 2013 and is a partnership committee which provides advice and recommendations on important medicines related issues across the healthcare system in South East London.

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The Committee includes membership from representatives of the following NHS organisations in South East London:

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The Committee’s work includes:

Information on medicines approved for use locally can be found in the SEL Joint Medicines Formulary (JMF) website. Further information on diabetes medicines can be found below⬇️

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Type 1 & Type 2 diabetes - first line recommendations

Medicines Optimisation Schemes

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Each QOF year, running April-April, the SEL CCG publishes the Medicines Optimisation Scheme to help the NHS achieve the greatest value from the finite prescribing fund by ensuring effective use of resources to deliver best patient outcomes

SEL CCG have set out the Medicines Optimisation KPIs for the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark. This is decided each year and discussed in the CCG meetings that pharmacists are required to attend.

The scheme is reviewed and/or revised yearly, with targets further optimised via evidence-based needs for safe and cost-efficient prescribing under the NHS. It is mainly divided into five priority areas:

Respiratory
Cardiovascular
Mental Heath
Medicines Optimisation (via EZ Analytics Dashboard)
Medicines Safety and Prescribing Processes

Each year, the Pharmacists will be given a Medicines Optimisation Plan (MOP) with targets to work on for that year. Examples include:

Switching brands of certain products e.g. test strips/inhalers to achieve a specific percentage target
Conducting audits such as reviewing Sodium Valproate monitoring and prescribing
Reducing OTC spend by a certain percentage

Each Pharmacist will be responsible for working on and achieve the MOP targets for their individual surgery.
The Pharmacists will meet with the medicines optimisation team throughout the year, usually every 3 months for updates, MOP discussions and will receive practice level data through prescribing reports, so we can ensure we keep track of our progress and meet the targets.

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Resources:

NICE: Medicines optimisation
SEL ICB: Lambeth Clinical Guidelines
Contact information for Medicines Optimisation Teams can be found in the 🛎️Services database