£0.8m in funding for medicines optimisation
Northern Ireland has announced funding to support two businesses to proceed to Phase 2 of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) for Medicines Optimisation. The £800,000 being made available to AppAttic and SmartAIR Medical will be used to develop new technology solutions to help support people to take their medicines appropriately.
Phase 1 commenced a year ago and selected six projects to asses for technical feasibility and proof of concept. Phase 2 will develop two solutions towards commercialisation by testing and evaluating their impact on medicines adherence in patients in Northern Ireland.
The AppAttic project – ‘Eirmed’ Gamification of Medication Management – “will focus on preparing for market and testing the impact of the solution on adherence through a clinical trial undertaken in collaboration with Research and Development lead at South Eastern Trust,” said the Northern Ireland Executive. Testing of SmartAIR Medical’s project – Enhancing Compliance of Inhaled Medication – is being undertaken in collaboration with C-TRIC and Research and Development lead at Western Trust.”
Health Minister Simon Hamilton commented, “Medicines are the most common medical intervention within the Health and Social Care Service (HSC) costing over £550million per year. As the population ages, demand for medicines is expected to rise and attention is needed to ensure that patients gain the best possible outcomes from their treatment.
“Evidence shows that between a half and a third of medicines prescribed for long term conditions are not taken as recommended. Non-adherence can have serious consequences for the
individual, resulting in poorer than expected clinical outcomes, reduced quality of life, deterioration of health and unplanned admission to hospital as well as wastage. Tackling non- adherence is one of the themes of my Department’s Medicines Optimisation Quality Framework and these initiatives will enable the HSC Service to continue to connect with the technology industry to develop creative and innovative solutions that meet patients’ needs.
“We attracted some strong proposals through the Phase 1 competition and it was difficult to select which companies would go on to Phase 2. The successful companies are working on some exciting products tackling the really important area of medicines adherence and have the potential to greatly enhance the way we use technology.”
Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell added, “Through SBRI all public sector bodies have an opportunity to use their spending power to drive economic growth and improve public sector productivity. SBRI uses the buying power of the public sector to facilitate innovation within the economy and by using specifications to allow companies of all sizes, including start-ups, to compete and win contracts to develop new solutions for the public sector.”
The public consultation for the Medicines Optimisation Quality Framework closed on 14 August 2015 and the final document is being prepared for publication.
The Framework supports an approach in which patients are more involved in decisions about their medicines and are supported by multidisciplinary professionals, working collaboratively to deliver best practices which aim to achieve the best possible health outcomes from their treatment.
PHA is renewed flu vaccine calls
The Public Health Agency (PHA) is again reminding pharmacists to advise those people in “at risk” groups and others who are eligible, to get the winter flu vaccine, with a warning about the deadly dangers associated with catching the flu.
As in previous years, influenza H1N1 (often known as "swine flu") is one of the strains of flu circulating this flu
season, but it is covered by the free vaccine which is being offered.
Most recent statistics indicate that in the week ending 31 January 2016, there were 31.7 per 100,000 people accessing primary care with flu-like illness. This is still substantially below the threshold that indicates the start of significant influenza circulation in the community (measured at 49.4 per 100,000 population).
NPA NEWS
LACK OF PROGRESS IS IMPACTING CARE
CONTRACTORS IN NORTHERN IRELAND WILL BE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE JUDICIAL REvIEW TAKEN AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SOCIAL SERvICES AND PUBLIC SAFETy (DHSSPS) HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL.
The lack of progress within the current commissioning system has negatively impacted provision of care through community pharmacy and has placed undue pressure on many of our members, threatening the long- term sustainability of community pharmacy in Northern Ireland. Current developments in England add yet another dimension to the ongoing situation over here in NI.
In December, NHS England announced plans to combine funding cuts with a set of proposals for productivity gains, including support for ‘large scale automated dispensing’ and increased online supply of medicines. Whilst the announced cuts are applicable in England only, members here have already begun thinking through the potential consequences for community pharmacy in NI.
Other aspects of the NHS England approach have the potential to contaminate debate elsewhere. Most worrying, we are concerned at the apparent implication in the NHS England proposals that pharmacy is just a distribution mechanism for product – rather than a valuable health and social care asset at the heart of communities. That kind of thinking must not be allowed to go unchallenged, wherever it is found.
In NI, this is coupled with the Minister of Health Simon Hamilton’s announcement that additional investment is to be provided to enable pharmacists to work within GP Practices. NPA Chair, Ian Strachan has commented, “Of course we welcome the principle of healthcare professionals working together closely to provide seamless care. The danger in this particular proposal is that
Ian Strachan
attention is diverted away from the potential inherent in the existing community pharmacy network, which is currently under-utilised.”
The NPA is keen to highlight the role that community pharmacists have to play in reducing demand on GP practices and optimising medicines use from within the community pharmacy setting. For example, the minor ailments or MUR services, or smoking cessation service, of which community pharmacy is the largest provider.
As the NPA leads on a campaign in England to secure a sustainable future for independents we will be making members in Northern Ireland aware of how to get involved in a similar campaign in the run up to Local Assembly Elections in May, promoting the role that pharmacy has to play in the community, over and above the supply of medicines and ensuring that decision makers truly see the value of community pharmacy. We will also be working on a number of initiatives to support service provision and the help members economise on costs.
For more information members should contact Anne McAlister (07538192839) or victoria Knowles (07821748131).
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