Rethinking access to medicines at home: can hospital prescriptions be safely supplied via alternative models?
As more outpatient appointments move to virtual formats, there is a growing need to rethink how patients access medicines typically prescribed and dispensed in hospital outpatient pharmacies.
We are collaborating with the NHS, patients and key stakeholders in a two-phased approach to rethink access to outpatient medicines in North Central London. Our Phase Two Report will explore outpatient hospital medicines provision models and how to improve access for patients, cost control for the NHS and release capacity within homecare services.
Phase one involved local engagement and hosting stakeholder roundtable discussions over six months, allowing for system input, co-design and sourcing of partners interested in piloting alternative medicines provision models across different medicine pathways. All roundtables and workshops involved representation from our patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) network. In January 2024, UCLPartners published its Outpatient Medicines Transformation Phase One Report, which explores current challenges around hospital medicines provision.
Since the launch of Phase one, a report published by the House of Lords Public Services Committee, Homecare medicine services: an opportunity lost, highlighted that, in some areas, the demand for homecare services has increased beyond capacity and explores the challenges of providing effective and cost-efficient services for patients.
The core aim of Phase Two was to explore alternatives for dispensing ‘low-tech’ oral medications—medicines that do not require refrigeration or specialist administration. The project sought to reimagine these dispensing routes, to free up capacity within homecare services for more complex treatments that require specialised support, aligning with their original purpose.
The initiative envisioned an innovative dispensing pathway that harnessed the expertise of community pharmacies while ensuring convenient, at-home patient access to medicines. Additionally, it aimed to alleviate the financial strain on the NHS by reducing the dependence on private homecare delivery services.
To hear more about the project please email enterprise@uclpartners.com. To learn more about our collaborators, please visit Pfizer and Alliance Healthcare.