Medicines management review to be included in trust ratings
Medicines management will be assessed from a patient’s perspective |
Medicines management is to be the subject of review
by the Healthcare Commission. It will be assessed along with diagnostic services and admissions management in the annual assessments (ratings) for trusts in England for 2005/6.
This review will follow on from the “A spoonful of sugar” report
in 2001, the previous acute hospital portfolio review on medicines management
2001/2 and the 2003 Department of Health self-assessment framework. The
aim will be to generate benchmarking data which will provide a direct
comparison between trusts.
The framework on which the ratings for medicines management will be based
is intended to identify areas for improvement and ascertain the drivers
of good performance. The Healthcare Commission will consult widely with
trusts and other bodies before making a final decision about which indicators
these should be.
The review will investigate corporate governance structures supporting
medicines management, including management of budgets and expenditure.
Aspects such as clincal governance,
evidence-based practice, modernisation of service delivery, patient experience
and staff development will also be included.
The review consists of a core questionnaire using existing routine national
data sources (eg, trust financial returns to the DoH and IMS health data).
There will also be a medicines management mini-clinical audit, a clinical
or ward team satisfaction survey and an outpatient waiting time audit.
The data collection will take place from September to mid November 2005
via a new
web-based system with the national report and full benchmarking data
to be published in May 2006.
Ray Fitzpatrick, clinical director, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS
Trust and chair, Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Hospital Pharmacists
Group commented that “this high profile review by the Healthcare
Commission will push medicines management up the corporate agenda. Trusts
where medicines management is not performed at the right level will be
highlighted and I hope this will help lead the development of medicines
management services in those organisations.”
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Hospital Pharmacist