Medicines Information Project

Table of Contents

Background: medicines users need better information
Objectives of the project
Contributors
Outputs from the Medicines Information Project (MIP)
Pilot phase
Project scope and implementation plan
Governance, development and ownership
Resources
The longer term picture
Further information

Background: medicines users need better information  [Top ]

Easy access to high quality, reliable, patient-friendly medicines information is key to enabling people:

• to understand their medicines better
• to participate in decisions about their own treatment; and
• to make use of the medicines they have been prescribed.

In recent years there has been growing recognition of the need to improve the availability, quality and accessibility of information about medicines for the public. This is being driven by a number of stakeholders including patients themselves, the Government, the NHS, the regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry.

Objectives of the project  [Top ]

The goal of the project is to provide information that will encourage and enable patients and the public to make informed decisions about their own health, be more involved in treatment choices and make best use of their medicines. For this to happen, people need access to high quality, clear and reliable medicines information which:

• Covers all medical conditions and treatment options Supports them in making informed choices about treatment.
• Is available before treatment decisions are made and can be used in discussions with health professionals to inform choices about treatment
• Is widely and easily accessible in a range of different channels and formats
• Links to a variety of high quality sources of further information and support

The Medicines Information Project is taking a significant step towards this vision by developing a new, structured source of information linking medical conditions, major treatment options and individual medicines, aimed at patients and the public.

Contributors  [Top ]

The Medicines Information Project is a unique collaboration based on partnership between a wide range of organisations, with different and complementary skill sets, and a shared vision of high quality, reliable medicines information for patients and carers.

The project board is chaired by the Director of Medicines Partnership and includes representatives from:

• Voluntary health organisations (patient groups)
• UK Medicines Information Pharmacists
• The nursing profession
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society
• Royal College of General Practitioners
• PECMI (promoting excellence in consumer medicine information)
• Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB)
• NHS Direct
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
• Datapharm Communications
• Department of Health
• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
• National Pharmacy Association Ltd (NPA)

Outputs from the Medicines Information Project (MIP)  [Top ]

The core output of the Medicines Information Project, Medicine Guides, reflects a long-term vision of the type of medicines information that should be available to patients and the public. Medicine Guides offer a new way for patients to access detailed information about their medicines through a framework of:

• Information on medical conditions and treatment options, which sits within NHS Direct Online. This will have links through to:
• Guides to individual medicines, which provide a user-friendly complement to the pack insert but critically, are available for patients to access before the prescribing decision is made. Medicine Guides in turn will link to existing, statutory sources of medicines information (Patient Information Leaflet and Summary of Product Characteristics) and other sources of advice and support, such as patient groups.

Figure 1: Overview of information provided by Medicines Information Project

Pilot phase  [Top ]

Pilot Medicine Guides have been developed in three therapy areas (epilepsy, colds and flu and hyperlipidaemia). Feedback from the pilot has informed the future development of the project and enabled a refined Medicine Guide template to be developed which reflects user preferences.

Project scope and implementation plan  [Top ]

The goal of the Medicines Information Project is to provide Medicine Guides and associated information for all prescription medicines licensed for use in the UK, over a three-year period. Funding has been secured from the pharmaceutical industry to enable this. A roadmap has been developed based on criteria as set out below:

• General Public represented by users of NHS Direct Online, tracking which conditions have the highest volume of traffic.
• GMS Quality Indicators reflecting the Department of Health priorities.
• Other stakeholders represented by the MIP Board.
• Individual Pharmaceutical companies which sponsor Medicine Guides.

The completed roadmap can be viewed here.

The 'bulk entry' phase of the project (initial authoring of all Medicine Guides for all prescription only medicines) will be completed by the end of 2007.

Governance, development and ownership  [Top ]

Delivering this new, structured source of medicines information involves contributions from a range of different experts including:

• Patients and voluntary health organisations, who are closely in touch with the needs of patients, carers and users of medicines
• Pharmaceutical companies, who are the experts in their own products
• Health professionals, who are experts in how medicines are used
• Regulators and officials, who are expert in the legal requirements for information
• Information and communication specialists, who understand how to present information in accessible formats that supports people to make informed choices.

The core structure of the project is as follows:

Board: 19 members, meeting quarterly, with a supervisory remit for the project, giving it overall direction and setting priorities.

Advisory group: 12 members, meeting 2-3 times a year, this group has a strategic role, helping the project to gather new ideas and co-ordinate with other developments. Representatives are drawn from organisations in related fields of activity.

Operational group: 6 members, comprises active organisations, meeting every few weeks and dealing with the everyday business of the project.

Reference group: 3 members, experts appointed on the advice of the Board to resolve uncertainties relating to information on specific medicines.

The Medicine Guides themselves are centrally authored through partnership with Datapharm Communications Limited (see diagram below).

Figure 2: Full organisational structure of Medicines Information Project



Resources  [Top ]

Resources for the Medicines Information Project are being provided from three sources:

1. Central organisation of the project, including co-ordination of the Board and the Advisory Group, is being provided by Medicines Partnership.
2. Development of the NHS Direct Online content about medical conditions and treatment options, linking to individual Medicine Guides, being provided by NHS Direct Online.
3. Funds for the development of individual Medicine Guides and systems, processes and procedures to support them are provided by the pharmaceutical industry, through a contribution from individual companies. The funding model is based on a fee per product and contribution to development and management costs based on companies� turnover.

The longer term picture  [Top ]

The three-year �bulk entry� aspect of the Medicines Information Project will by necessity have a central authoring process with user input at all stages.

Over the longer term, we envisage a number of developments will be realised in order to move closer to delivering a truly consumer-oriented medicines information resource. These will include:

1. A more devolved authoring system enabling a range of organisations, including voluntary health organisations and individual companies, to provide more direct input to Medicine Guides within the overall quality assurance and editorial framework.
2. A greater range of different channels for people to access the outputs of the Medicines Information Project including digital television, leaflets and books.
3. Inclusion of information on medicines available without prescription through partnership with the Proprietary Association of Great Britain .
4. Continued innovation in the content and format of the Medicine Guides, driven by the needs and desires of patients. Particular attention is likely to be given to the presentation of data about benefits and risks of medicines to enable people to make informed choices about medicine-taking together with their health professionals.

Further information  [Top ]

More information about the project is available from the Medicines Partnership website: http://www.medicines-partnership.org/medicines-information/m-i-project.

This site provides links to the various outputs from the project and will be updated on an ongoing basis with details of the Board and Advisory Group. Feedback or enquiries can be emailed to: info@medicines.partnership.org.

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