Latest Evidence Evaluation and Guidance Publications
The latest Evidence Evaluation and Guidance publications are listed below. If you are interested in what we are currently working on please see our workplan
To view a full list of all of the Evidence Evaluation and Guidance publications sorted by the most recently published click here
Formulary Assessment Tools
Description
Formulary assessment tools are templates to support local decision making. They list NICE guidance, MHRA safety advice, and other relevant high quality advice and guidelines relevant to making decisions for local formularies.
The templates are pre-populated with useful information to reduce duplication of effort, with space for the addition of local information as appropriate. The purpose of the document is to support consistent decision making by formulary groups and APCs.
This information is produced for use by NHS healthcare professionals and RDTC stakeholders.
Prescriber Support Tools
Description
Tools to support medicines management teams and prescribers in clinical decision-making, such as comparison tables for a therapeutic class to highlight clinical similarities and differences.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Ciclosporin eye drops for dry eye disease | This document compares the ciclosporin eye drops licensed in the UK for use in adults. It is intended as a quick reference to summarise differences between the available preparations. | 19/12/2025 |
| Comparison of DOACs for Atrial Fibrillation | Several direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are licensed for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This comparison table allows prescribers and other healthcare professionals to easily compare the characteristics of these medicines. | 20/06/2025 |
| Comparison of levonorgestrel-containing intrauterine devices | There are currently five levonorgestrel Intrauterine devices (LNG-IUDs) available in the UK. This comparison table allows prescribers and other healthcare professionals to easily compare the characteristics of these devices. | 27/11/2024 |
Medicines or Prescribing Bulletins
Description
Bulletins highlighting current medicines or prescribing issues, designed to provide concise, timely information
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Switching from disposable to reusable insulin pens | This document outlines the benefits of appropriate switching from disposable to reusable insulin pens, highlighting advantages for patients, the environment, and potential cost savings. It also provides practical recommendations for implementation by medicines optimisation teams | 17/03/2026 |
| Principles for embedding pharmacogenomics into NHS medicines governance | The purpose of this bulletin is to introduce PGx to medicines committees and working groups and provide considerations for embedding PGx testing into medicines governance structures and processes, supporting the safe and effective use of medicines. | 30/01/2026 |
| Budget impact of prescribing haloperidol 500 microgram tablets | The purpose of this bulletin is to highlight the inflated NHS price of haloperidol 500 microgram tablets and to demonstrate the potential savings of using alternative presentations to provide the same dose. It shows the current annual primary care spend on haloperidol 500 microgram tablets and potential annual opportunity within RDTC stakeholder ICBs. | 26/09/2025 |
| Budget impact of emollient bath and shower preparations | The purpose of this bulletin is to promote cost effective prescribing by highlighting the lack of evidence on the efficacy of emollient bath and shower preparations for the management of atopic eczema, in line with updated NICE guidance. It considers the potential savings that could be achieved with reduced prescribing of these products across the ICSs in the North East & Yorkshire region and Greater Manchester | 15/05/2025 |
| Medicines value tracker – Shower and Bath emollients; opportunity savings realised | The purpose of this medicines value bulletin tracker is to support ICBs in monitoring progress and identifying remaining potential opportunity savings for the Medicines value opportunities already identified in the RDTC Medicines Value Bulletin series. | 15/05/2025 |
| Medicines value tracker – Metformin 1g tablets; opportunity savings realised | The purpose of this medicines value bulletin tracker is to support ICBs in monitoring progress and identifying remaining potential opportunity savings for the Medicines value opportunities already identified in the RDTC Medicines Value Bulletin series. | 09/05/2025 |
Medicines in Practice
Description
Evidence-based publications designed to support medicines optimisation activities. The series aims to maximise health gains through the optimum use of medicines, by influencing and changing prescribing behaviour.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Docusate for constipation | This document aims to review the evidence base for the use of docusate in the management of constipation, and discusses the over prescribing of laxatives in general. | 15/12/2025 |
| Pylera for the eradication of Helicobacter Pylori infection | Pylera is a new triple fixed-dose combination capsule containing bismuth, metronidazole and tetracycline. In combination with omeprazole, it is indicated for the eradication of H. pylori and prevention of relapse of peptic ulcers in patients with active or a history of H. pylori associated ulcers. The aim of this report is to evaluate the efficacy, safety and potential place in therapy of Pylera | 28/8/2025 |
| Oral Vitamin B12 supplementation for vitamin B12 deficiency | This document aims to provide advice on the prescribing of oral cyanocobalamin for vitamin B12 deficiency due to various causes. It also highlights NHS England recommendations on self-care using over the counter products. | 08/04/2025 |
| Oral Sucralfate use in primary care | There have been concerns raised previously about the safety profile and efficacy of sucralfate for long-term use. The withdrawal of ranitidine from the UK marketplace in 2019, and subsequent concerns over the long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in certain patients have brought these concerns back in focus. This document aims to distil the key evidence and recommendations regarding the use of oral sucralfate in primary care. | 20/03/2025 |
Drug and therapeutics reviews
Description
D&T reviews are prepared in response to specific requests. They are intended for use by drug and therapeutics groups or equivalent committees, to support the review of applications to use a treatment in an individual or cohort. They are not intended to be used as standalone publications. Copies are available on request.
Evaluation Reports
Description
Evidence-based publications specifically designed to support stakeholder medicines optimisation services. The series aims to maximise health gains through the optimum use of medicines, by influencing and changing prescribing behaviour.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease | A new generation of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for Alzheimer’s disease are in development and the potentially eligible population for these agents is very large. The aim of this evaluation report is to briefly discuss the effectiveness and safety of lecanemab and donanemab and attempt to estimate their potential impact on patients and services in the North of England. | 10/09/2024 |
| Teriparatide for treatment of osteoporosis in men aged over 50 years | The aim of this evaluation report is to review the evidence for the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of teriparatide for use in male patients for osteoporosis treatment. | 08/04/2024 |
New Drug Evaluations
Description
Concise, structured reviews of new drugs recently launched within the NHS. These documents seek to provide a brief overview of the efficacy, safety and cost of new drugs.
| Title | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Clascoterone for the treatment of acne vulgaris | 15/12/2025 |
| Estradiol / progesterone (Bijuve®) for hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women | 25/05/2022 |
Prescribing for Population Health
Description
Bulletins intended to support ICSs to improve the health of the populations they serve, using prescribing data, biomedical literature, and other data sources to provide new insights.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Problematic Polypharmacy: Prescribing Cascades Evidence Evaluation | Problematic polypharmacy is a significant concern with overprescribing and occurs where the prescribing of multiple medicines is either inappropriate or where the intended benefit of the medication is not realised. Prescribing cascades contribute to problematic polypharmacy because they can lead to inappropriate medication use, adverse drug reactions, poor outcomes and increased healthcare resource use that could be avoided. The publication aims to raise awareness of potential prescribing cascades and to highlight resources, tools, and strategies to help identify, prevent, and resolve inappropriate cascades. | 02/03/2023 |
| Polypharmacy & Overprescribing: Opioid patient populations | In this first part of the series, the focus is on the patient populations prescribed opioids and the inter-relationships and dependencies between prescribing and the available metrics. | 17/02/2023 |
| Polypharmacy & Overprescribing: Opioid patient demographics | This is the second part of the series which focuses on the demographics of the patient populations prescribed opioids. | 17/02/2023 |
| Polypharmacy & Overprescribing: Opioid population health management | This is the third part of the series which focuses on the population health management of patients prescribed opioids, specifically in terms of deprivation level and the impact on sustainability and climate change. | 17/02/2023 |
Safer Medication Use
Description
Bulletin series jointly produced with the Yellow Card Centre Northern and Yorkshire, discussing specific drug related safety problems. Provides guidance to ensure safe, appropriate prescribing and raises awareness of adverse drug reaction detection and reporting.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Propranolol in the treatment of anxiety | Propranolol is increasingly used for the treatment of anxiety. However, several recent critical incidents have raised concerns that there may still be a lack of awareness amongst prescribers over the risks associated with propranolol in overdose. This report aims to raise awareness of the potential toxicity of propranolol in overdose and highlight a specific group of patients who may be at an increased risk of using propranolol for self-harm. | 01/10/2024 |
| Opioids and gabapentinoids | The use of combination opioids and gabapentinoids is associated with an increased risk of adverse events. Gabapentinoid overdose is much more likely to be fatal when combined with opioids and there is a greater risk of gabapentinoid dependence in patients with a history of opioid use disorder. | 28/04/2020 |
Strategic Insights
Description
Bulletins intended to support ICSs to improve the health of the populations they serve, using prescribing data, biomedical literature, and other data sources to provide new insights.
| Title | Synopsis | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic repeat dispensing (eRD): medicines roadmap and outcomes of high eRD uptake | This report provides a medicines roadmap to support the uptake and implementation of electronic repeat dispensing (eRD). It also presents the results of an analysis on the impact of high levels of eRD implementation on prescribing volume and hospital admissions. | 11/03/2026 |
| Incorporating primary and secondary care prescribing data to better understand the ICS | A combination of multiple datasets is required for the planning and prioritisation of services, and the allocation of funding in an Integrated Care System (ICS). This report highlights the limitations and challenges of combining primary and secondary care medicines datasets to understand medicines use across an ICS footprint. | 29/05/2024 |
| Antimicrobial prescribing across primary and secondary care | This report combines primary and secondary care medicines usage data for antimicrobials. It supports ICBs in the consideration of system-wide ICS medicines data for a complete overview of system prescribing. | 29/05/2024 |
Shared Care Protocols
Description
Maintenance of a suite of shared care protocols, including timely addition of safety updates and 2-yearly full review.