The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has published updated guidance in response to concerns about unsafe prescribing and supply of medicines online. The pharmacy regulator has added medicines used for weight-management to the list of high-risk medicines requiring extra safeguards before being prescribed. The updated guidance emphasises that, for high-risk medicines, the prescriber cannot base prescribing decisions on the information provided in an online questionnaire alone. For example, before providing medicines for weight-management, the prescriber now has to independently verify the person’s weight and height or body mass index, to support safer decision making. There are also further safeguards for medicines liable to misuse, those for long-term conditions and those requiring ongoing monitoring or management.
Find out more and read the guidance on the GPhC website here.
Public feedback is being sought on a draft document looking at the use of AI to create lay summaries of clinical trial results. Considerations for Using AI to Create Lay Summaries of Trial Results has been published by The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) following consultation with organisations in the USA and EU. It aims to provide guidance on the responsible use of AI to create lay summaries and other patient-friendly clinical research information. The consultation is open until February 18.
View the document and take part in the public survey on the CISCRP website here.
A new report looks at how public money is used to support people in the last year of their life. The Nuffield Trust and the Health Economics Unit were commissioned by PIF member Marie Curie to estimate the range of public expenditure that supports the care of people in their last year. The aim is to help inform national and local funding decisions and improve services. Key findings include:
Read the full report and its findings on The Nuffield Trust website here.
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has launched new guidance to help tackle inequalities in care for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. The guidance explores inequalities including delays in diagnosis, lack of reasonable adjustments and 'diagnostic overshadowing'. SCIE sought funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and other charitable foundations for the research after a Public Health England report found people with learning disabilities were four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the rest of the population. The aim of the guidance is to create an understanding of inequalities and how health and social care services can address them.
Read more about the guidance on the SCIE website here.
In this NHS England blog, Jake Marshall, head of life sciences and public sector partnerships for the Data for Research and Development Programme, shares his perspective on how collaboration is shaping the NHS Research Secure Data Environment (SDE) Network. The blog follows NHS England's launch of a 'common front door' into the SDE Network. An online portal, created in partnership with Health Data Research UK, aims to give health researchers access to data sets and other health data resources.
Read more about the collaboration on the NHS England website here.
A new whitepaper explores the rise in polypharmacy, when a patient takes multiple medications, and how to prevent more cases of harmful overprescribing. Connecting the dots: Action on polypharmacy and overprescribing, is based on a discussion between healthcare professionals facilitated by Optum UK at the Health Service Journal's Integrated Care Systems (ICS) Medicines Forum. It says polypharmacy is a complex issue and there are no quick fixes. However, delegates did identify five strategic challenges that need to be addressed: technology, data, people, pathways and training.
Read more about the workshop and white paper on the Optum website here.