New Telford prescriptions service ‘could save £650,000’

Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group is set to discuss the plans to phase in the Prescription Ordering Department (POD) this year, following a successful six-month pilot scheme.

It comes shortly after Telford introduced rules instructing GPs not to write prescriptions for treatments that can be bought over the counter.

It means people who normally get drugs through a prescription for milder conditions must now buy them directly from pharmacies, shops and supermarkets in a drive to better educate patients about resources.

Jacqui Seaton, head of medicines management, said in a report that will be discussed by the CCG's board this week, that medicines waste is currently a "big issue" to focus on, which could be eased by the POD.

The department is a call centre where patients telephone to order their repeat medicines, giving them more responsibility to order their repeat medicines.

Ms Seaton said: "Community pharmacy-managed repeat services, where pharmacies order medicines on behalf of patients, often without checking their requirements before placing the order, are often associated with medicines waste.

"The POD will allow patients to move away from using the managed repeat service and this in turn will reduce medicines waste and improve patient safety by ensuring that patients only have the medicines that they need and are not supplied with excess stock."

So far, four medical practices have joined the scheme – Dawley, Donnington, Oakengates and Wellington – with plans for all those in Telford & Wrekin to join over the coming months.

Currently, patients registered with those four practices are generating around 1,500 calls each week and the department is seeing weekly increased in call volume, as well as a surge each time a new practice joins.

Ms Seaton said there had been a number of success stories since starting the service in October last year.

She said: "The National Review of Asthma Deaths report highlighted that patients with asthma who over-order short acting β-agonist inhalers are at increased risk of death.

"The POD routinely highlights patients who have been prescribed more than four such inhalers in a six-month period. One patient had been prescribed 64 salbutamol inhalers in a 10 month period.

"The POD also identified a three-year-old child who was prescribed nutritional supplements, at a cost of £230 per month, that should have been stopped when the child was 18 months of age. The child was not under the care of a dietician."

Ms Seaton said that as well as financial savings, the department could help ease pressure on current GP services with medicine related queries directed to the POD.

She added: "Savings in the region of £650,000 are anticipated during 2017/18 with the phased introduction of more practices to the POD.

"These savings are calculated after deducting staffing, accommodation and other costs associated with the POD."

In Shropshire, the county's CCG has not yet made any changes but last month said it had "identified £3 million worth of savings" it could make, using cost effective prescribing.

The plans will be discussed at a board meeting today to be held at 1.30pm at Meeting Point House in Telford.