NHS Norfolk

ScriptSwitch Helps to Deliver Better Care and Better Value

NHS Norfolk achieved in excess of £575,000 return on investment in 2007/8 after implementing ScriptSwitch software.

With 92 GP practices, NHS Norfolk planned to use the software to deliver a project that addressed the needs of the local population and improved performance against national targets.

They were able to develop a bespoke system to drive service improvement using the Recommendation Profile – an underlying database of prescribing advice that is adapted and maintained locally. Ian Small, Deputy Head of Prescribing at NHS Norfolk explains:

“We identified the need for a multidisciplinary approach early on in the project, and decided to involve other members of the healthcare team. I set up a Prescribing Reference Group, which included representation from the Norfolk Local Pharmaceutical Committee, to review future changes to the Recommendation Profile. This function of the software enabled us to monitor the take-up of locally adapted prescribing guidance and ensure that there was greater equity of patient care across practices.”

After the initial focus on financial recovery, with quick win switches to certain branded products (agreed with LPC to maximum of 20), NHS Norfolk concentrated on specific issues, such as informing practices of local prescribing decisions and NICE guidance.

ScriptSwitch software provided NHS Norfolk with the means to inform, interact with and positively influence all prescribers with access to the clinical system, including non-regular members of the care team, such as locums. Dr James Mair, a Norwich GP, found the addition of the software extremely useful:

“The price of tablets, creams and appliances change all the time and this software alerts us immediately to cost savings. It suggests equally effective but often vastly cheaper alternatives to what we had intended to prescribe.”