Government report finds serious overprescription issues in England
pharmafile | September 22, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development |
A government report has found serious overprescription issues in England, with 10% of items dispensed in primary care being overprescribed, 15% of people taking five or more medicines a day, and one in five hospitalisations in over-65s being caused by adverse effects of medicines.
Ministers have accepted all recommendations on this issue, including introducing a new national clinical director for prescribing, increased use of social prescribing, and better handovers between hospitals and the community.
The government-commissioned review was led by Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England Dr Keith Ridge and has been published today.
The key takeaway from the report was that 10% of the volume of prescription items dispensed through primary care in England are either inappropriate for that patients’ circumstances and wishes, or could be better served with alternative treatments.
Overprescribing is where people are given medicines they do not need or want, or where potential harm outweighs the benefit of the medication. It can happen when a better alternative is available but not prescribed, the medicine is appropriate for a condition but not the individual patient, a condition changes and the medicine is no longer appropriate, or the patient no longer needs the medicine but continues to be prescribed it.
The report also found that around one in five hospital admissions in over-65s and around 6.5% of total hospital admissions are caused by the adverse effects of medicines.
The more medicines a person takes, the higher chance there is that one or more of these medicines will have an unwanted or harmful effect, and some medicines, such as those to reduce blood pressure, can also increase the risk of falls amongst the frail and elderly.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid, said: “This is an incredibly important review which will have a lasting impact on people’s lives and improve the way medicines are prescribed.
“With 15% of people taking five or more medicines a day, in some cases to deal with the side effects of another medicine, more needs to be done to listen to patients and help clinical teams tackle overprescribing.”
The conclusion of the review was that medicines optimisation was key, it also noted that reducing overprescribing will help the NHS fulfil its commitment to become carbon net zero, as the production and use of some medicines can generate significant greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, 25% of the NHS carbon footprint is as a result of medicines, some of this is down to the use of anaesthetic gases and inhalers, however, it is mostly caused by the manufacturing and freight in the supply chain.
Dr Ridge, said: “Medicines do people a lot of good and the practical measures set out in this report will help clinicians ensure people are getting the right type and amount of medication, which is better for patients and also benefits taxpayers, by preventing unnecessary spending on prescriptions.
“Continuing to tackle overprescribing requires a whole system approach involving clinicians and patients, so we can continue to build the change we all wish to see in how medicines are used for the benefit of patients, and with medicines production and use a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions – contributing to the NHS’s net zero ambition”.
Kat Jenkins
