Improving medication prescribing
Improving how we prescribe medication in Lincolnshire has been identified as an area of focus.
Our collaborative working brings together GPs, hospitals, community, mental health and learning disability services, alongside social care and the voluntary and community sector to improve the quality of care patients receive.
It ensures services are working together in close partnership, to make best use of resources and joining up to improve patient experience.
Why is prescribing important?
We know in Lincolnshire 50 per cent of patients do not take their medicines as prescribed, and between 5 and 8 per cent of all unplanned hospital admissions are due to medication issues.
Lincolnshire is also a high prescriber and user of certain medications, when compared to the national average.
Looking at this in more detail, we’ve identified three key areas that could vastly improve patient care and experience.
Three key areas:
- Mental health prescribing
- Use of opioids for long term pain
- Regular medication reviews for those on multiple medications (polypharmacy)
Mental health prescribing
Whilst everyone can feel low from time to time, and can be affected by difficult and challenging life events, sometimes people need additional help with their mental health and can be prescribed medication to help manage symptoms.
Opioids – pain medication
Opioids, or opiates, are a group of drugs that are prescribed for moderate to severe pain. They are very effective for short term pain relief and in end-of-life treatment, however there is very little evidence that they are effective for long term pain relief.
Multiple medications – Polypharmacy
Polypharmacy is a term used when someone is taking multiple medicines at the same time. As people live longer, they are more likely to have more than one long-term condition. With each requiring medication, for example diabetes and high blood pressure.
What are we doing and what we want to change
For each of the three key areas we have brought together groups of multi-skilled health professionals. We recognise that everyone’s health and wellbeing can be very individual, and what works for someone, may not be appropriate for others.
We need your help
It is really important that we include our patient and carer’s voices in all the work we do, to ensure we are focusing on the right things that will make a difference.
We will be seeking regular feedback on your experiences as part of the work, as well as asking what would help, or what we should change.
We are particularly looking for people that have experience of using the medications we’ve talked about, to help guide us with their personal experiences.
Contact us
If you would like to find out more, or be involved, contact the Involvement Team at NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board on licb.involveus@nhs.net.
We will share more updates and information here as we progress.