news - RDTC

Prescribing for Population Health – Polypharmacy and Overprescribing: Opioids

February 17, 2023

In recent years, there has been increasing concern regarding the overprescribing of opioids and associated harms. The RDTC has produced a series of publications as part of the Polypharmacy and Overprescribing theme reviewing opioid prescribing:

Each publication includes considerations and interventions for medicines optimisation teams and health systems. To avoid duplication across this series of overprescribing and polypharmacy opioid publications, the suggested actions have only been listed in the most relevant theme but may apply across all. We recommend reading all parts of the series sequentially to ensure the breadth of potential actions are known. The publications can be accessed using the links below:

PPH 3. Polypharmacy & Overprescribing: Opioid patient populations:

This publication aims to support greater understanding of the patient populations prescribed opioids and the inter-relationships and dependencies between prescribing and the available metrics.

PPH 4. Polypharmacy & Overprescribing: Opioid patient demographics:

This publication aims to support greater understanding of the demographics of the patient populations prescribed opioids.

PPH 5. Opioid population health management:

This publication aims to support greater understanding of the population health management of patients prescribed opioids, specifically in terms of deprivation level and the impact on sustainability and climate change.

New publication type: formulary assessment tools

April 8, 2022

Our new series of monthly formulary amendments have been well received, so we’ve added another set of support documents: formulary assessment tools. These are templates to support local decision making, bringing together 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.

The first publications in the series cover levomepromazine 6mg tablets and indapamide 1.5mg modified release tablets. This information is produced for use by NHS healthcare professionals and RDTC stakeholders.

Find all of our formulary tools at their own formulary support tools landing page.

Annual Horizon Scanning Report – 2022-2023

February 16, 2022

Each year the RDTC considers the information published in the SPS Prescribing Outlook series, and from this information highlights developments that are likely to have significant impact on primary care prescribing budgets, over the coming 12 – 15 months.

The RDTC takes the SPS Cost Calculator and aids in filters to calculate totals for each of its stakeholder ICS and CCGs.

A Key Considerations Document accompanies the Cost Calculator detailing the key messages, summarising the current prescribing budget position, and suggesting proposed uplifts to prescribing budgets for the next financial year.

This is supplemented throughout the year with the RDTC Monthly Horizon Scanning series, which provides a more accurate monthly account of the impact of new medicines and recommendations as they publish.

There are five regional versions of this publication. These can all be found on the Annual Horizon Scanning Report page