Mary Anderson wrote:
> Dear gp-uk your thoughts please.
>
> The guys in our practice that go to the MMS collaborative (
> to do with medicines) want us to type in the indication for each
> prescription
>
> fine
>
> this has arisen from the fact that many patients dont know what their
> medicines are for.
>
> so the aim is to avoid confusion, enhance concordance, and
> make periodic reviews of medication more meaningful
>
> fine so far;
>
> except this means that on computers up and down the country,
> next to the words tabs thyroxine 100 mcg daily 50 000 GPs in
> UK will be typing in *as thyroid replacement therapy* or some
> other words; or next to aspirin 75mg daily the said GPs will be
> typing in - what I wonder?
>
> There is a good case for some simple defaults in the computer drug
> file picking lists.
>
> What would it take to achieve this? Is there anybody high up of whom
> I can request it?
>
> our chaps say that emis wont do it; but it isnt a problem in
> emis because when a GP has done it once for any patient that
> option will be stored and available to the GP for the next time / the
> next patient.
>
> However it is the initial duplication/multiplication of
> effort that I resent and the waste of time. when it could be
> avoided.  30 seconds x 50 000 (GPs) x 400 (commonest
> prescribed items) Lots of hours.
>
> My argument is that since MMS the medicines collaborative is
> proposing a systematic change in the way we do things, there
> should be a systems solution or at least systems support. any
> comments? mary
>

As far as the New Contract goes, this doesn't apply to repeat
prescriptions initiated before 1st April 2004, and generates 4 points.

I'd favour a pull-down list (in most-recently-used order?) of
high-priority Read codes which is offered when any new repeat
prescription is entered, and which is linked to the drug in question.
There needs to be an option to attach any Read code through the usual
look-up, and some means of dealing with drugs which aren't being aimed
at any particular diagnosis - you've mentioned aspirin, but consider the
oral contraceptive, folic acid in pregnancy and in methotrexate
treatment, undiagnosed conditions for which symptomatic treatment is
required, and even the humble placebo!

--
Michael