Question reference: S5W-09169
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 8 May 2017
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 May 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is taken to ensure that, to avoid waste, people receive the correct amount of prescription drugs.
Answer
All NHS boards have strategies in place to help improve the quality, clinical and cost effectiveness of prescribing. These include GP and pharmacist medicines reviews and reviews of repeat prescribing. Strategies are also supported by local and national publicity campaigns.
The Scottish Therapeutics Utility (STU) is a software package to help general practices identify areas of potential medicines waste within their repeat prescribing systems. This product is provided free to NHS boards by the Scottish Government’s Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics Branch. STU offers a fresh approach to reviewing repeat medication which accounts for 80% of dispensed medicines.
Polypharmacy guidance issued by the Scottish Government aims to ensure priority patients prescribed multiple medicines are reviewed to ensure they receive the most appropriate and effective pharmaceutical care. This guidance is supported by additional national prescribing strategies focussing on Diabetes, Respiratory and Chronic Pain prescribing.