The NHS loses £4 billion annually because of wasted medication and poor medicine management, with only 16% of patients taking their medication correctly (Healthera 2016).
NHS England state that our patients depend on medicines to help them maintain health, prevent illness, manage chronic conditions and treat disease. Medicines play a significant part in the management of patients, and are a precious resource that are often taken for granted. Patients need to know how to take their medication correctly and safely, in order to get the best results, which means their conditions and health can be managed more effectively
This module embraces NHS England’s vision for collaborative working in order to change the way we think about medicines and prescribing for patients. You will gain further insights into drug development in order to acquire a wider appreciation of what medicines are and the processes involved from drug development to drug marketing, to the patients who take them.
Knowledge of the potential dangers of drugs, side effects, their management and medicines optimisation that is transferable to practice, will enhance patient safety across all sectors of healthcare provision.
Assessment
Completion of a workbook and a written reflection.