Greater Glasgow and Clyde Medicines

This post summarises the latest NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde decisions relating to new medicines assessed by SMC and considered by the Area Drug and Therapeutics Committee (ADTC) and uses a nationally developed format specifically aimed for patients and the public.

For full details of the medicines included in this post that are available for use, including any restrictions on prescribing, please see the relevant entry in the GGC Formulary.

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In May this year, NHSGGC undertook a comprehensive public survey to understand how people feel about their medicines and about deprescribing. Over 1000 responses were received, giving invaluable insights into how patients feel about their currently prescribed medicines and their willingness to consider reducing or stopping them.

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• A new NHSGGC guideline has been published on the Right Decision Platform: Management plan for patients on warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the peri-operative period.
• The new NHSGGC guideline includes:
• Updated recommendations on thrombosis risk categories for elective procedures.
• A clear presentation of different DOACs and the time frame between the last dose and high bleeding risk procedures.
• Updated recommendations on low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) dose in the peri-operative period.
• Updated CHADS-VA score in line with new recommendations from the European Society of Cardiology.

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• Over the next 18 months, a new Regional West of Scotland Formulary is being created which will replace the NHSGGC formulary over time
• A regular newsletter will be issued to keep staff in participating health boards up-to-date with project progress
• Nominations are being sought from health care professionals who consider themselves to be experts in particular therapeutic areas to be part of each chapter expert working group for both the paediatric and adult formularies, please complete this form to nominate yourself.

Click here to access the full blog

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Key messages for staff working in NHSGGC:

• Use NHSGGC validated calculators for creatinine clearance (CrCl) and for calculating doses of gentamicin and vancomycin in adult patients.
• Avoid using calculators from other health boards as this can result in doses of medicines being prescribed which do not follow NHSGGC guidelines.
• Only access NHSGGC calculators via the GGC Medicines app and do not use a search engine.

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New HEPMA oral antibiotic protocols for non-severe respiratory and urinary tract infections with no previous intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment have been introduced to support prescribing and improve documentation of oral antibiotic stop dates on HEPMA.