A Guide to Useful Resources for Pharmacy Teams Across HIOW
Local:
- Information pack for prescribers: resources available within HIOW ICB to support prescribers in the safe and cost-effective prescribing of medicines
- HIOW Medicines Optimisation: The ICS website includes a medicines optimisation page intended for patients and a link to information for healthcare professionals Information for healthcare professionals
- Healthy Hearts in Hampshire and Isle of Wight
- GP Portal: this local repository of Medicines Optimisation (MO) resources been decommissioned, resources are being migrated now available via the HIOW Medicines Optimisation pages
- Medicines Optimisation Bulletin: available on the HIOW Medicines Optimisation page and distributed at ICS level; informing of any medicines-related developments. Please ensure you are on the mailing list to receive this bulletin. Contact your local MO Team (details HERE)
- HIOW Formulary: Easy to use, Hampshire-wide formulary (the Isle of Wight will join the formulary in the near future), with embedded links to relevant NICE/other guidance
- HIOW Priorities Committee Policy Statements: this site contains details of the prior approval and individual funding request (IFR) processes and forms for HIOW and the clinical policy statements agreed through the HIOW Priorities Committee
- South Central Antimicrobial Network (SCAN) Guidelines: local guidelines for prescribing antimicrobials in primary care. Regularly updated
- UHS Medicines Learning Portal: learning and development; case study examples and clinical scenarios to improve clinical knowledge
- Wessex Academic Health Sciences Network (AHSN): learning and development resources. The AHSN leads on a number of medicines-related priorities on behalf of the ICS
- Community Pharmacy South Central (CPSC): the HIOW Local Pharmaceutical Committee, advocating and representing community pharmacy practices; lots of useful information including details of locally commissioned, Essential, Advanced, and Enhanced services; opening hours including bank/national holidays
- Wessex Local Medical Committees: Lots of helpful resources e.g., prescriptions for travelling abroad, unlicensed medicines, shared care, private prescriptions
- CSU core clinical system training: training on EMISWeb and SystmOne available at beginner and more advanced level covering searches, reports, protocols and concepts
- Ardens: producers of searches, templates and other tools which are embedded in GP clinical systems (EMISWeb and SystmOne), supporting practices and clinicians with their work. Training webinars are run to enable you to get the most from these tools
- Community of Practice for Pharmacy Technicians: this Eventbrite page details upcoming events for pharmacy technicians
National:
- Specialist Pharmacy Service Advice Contact Details
- Specialist Pharmacy Service - Resources: Resources for pharmacy and other healthcare professionals including the Medicines Supply Tool, Renal Handbook, latest COVID vaccination and treatment resources, safety updates, webinars and other learning events. Requires registration (free) to access
- NICE newsletters and alerts: subscribe to receive regular tailored email updates including Medicines and Prescribing Alerts, the Medicines Awareness Service, and NICE updates
- BNF British National Formulary - NICE
- BNF for Children British National Formulary - NICE
- MDCalc - Medical calculators, equations, scores, and guidelines
- Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC): Useful resources on a variety of subjects including funding, dispensing practies, Price Concessions, the kinds of services provided by community pharmacy contractors (Essential, Enhanced, National Enhanced)
- Electronic Medicines Compendium: compendium of Summary of Product Chararcteristics (SmPC) and Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) for medicines licensed within the UK
- NEWT Guidelines: information on administration of medicines in patients who are enterally fed or those who have dysphagia. Login details can be shared with PCN pharmacy teams; please contact your local MO Team (HERE) for details
- GP Evidence: Decision aids for GPs and other healthcare professionals to support treatment decisions with individual patients
- Drug Tariff: payment and pricing information
- Open Prescribing: easy to access, prescribing data analysis by practice, PCN or ICB (uses ePACT2 data); register (free) to receive regular email updates
- ePACT2: (Electronic Prescribing and Cost Analysis Tool); useful dashboards available (for example, Polypharmacy, AMS, Opioid Prescribing, eRD usage), together with ability to build own analyses. Requires registration (free); use regularly or registration expires
- FutureNHS platform: for connecting with (and sharing resources/ideas) local and national colleagues, in shared workspaces. Requires registration (free)
- Fingertips: public health data; useful for identifying trends in population health and areas of Health Inequality
- Local Health: from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); small area health-related data
- Tabanalytics: analyses of performance across the healthcare sector including PCN Dashboards for IIF indicators
- Primary Care Pharmacy Association - PCPA*: - useful resources and clinical webinars, events and hubs
- PrescQIPP: learning and development resources; clinical masterclasses; horizon scanning for future developments. Their ‘Practice Plus’ resource is specifically aimed at PCN pharmacy professionals. Requires registration (free as part of the ICB subscription)
- CPPE: learning and development for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Requires registration (free)
- i2i Pharmacist Network: training, implementing and networking platform for all pharmacists; clinical resources
- MORPh: training and development resources for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy teams. Requires registration (free)
- UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA)*: learning and development resources; forums, support groups, and events
- Association of UK Pharmacy Techncians (APTUK)*: national professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians; learning, development and training resources
- Royal Pharmaceutical Society*: national professional leadership body for pharmacists
- Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (DM+D): a dictionary of descriptions and codes which represent medicines and devices in use across the NHS. Refreshed weekly. Includes: whether a product will be reimbursed by NHSBSA, indicative prices, current and discontinued products and packs available from manufacturers and suppliers. Webinars to support use are available via the link
- Red Whale: Subscribe to receive free clinical updates (‘Pearls’). Further learning and development courses also available, for a fee
Please contact your local Medicines Optimisation Team (details HERE) if you require support in an area not covered in these resources, and we will endeavour to signpost you to alternatives.
*Subscription required