Primary Care News

Powys Teaching Health Board first in Wales for FDB OptimiseRx

Powys Teaching Health Board is the first Welsh health board to go live with FDB OptimiseRx, which supports GPs to prescribe in line with local and national guidance and reduce the variation in prescribing. The solution provides prescribing decision support for primary care that presents prescribers with guidance messages that are tailored to the individual patient record.

The Health Board medicines team chose FDB OptimiseRx to support the delivery of the All Wales Medicine Strategy Group’s national indicators which are designed to promote safe and effective prescribing across primary care by encouraging appropriate medication use and regular patient review. The company is supporting Powys Teaching Health Board by tailoring the messages to reflect the Powys local drug formulary, to make FDB OptimiseRx relevant to prescribers.

Jason Carroll, Medicines Management Pharmacist, Powys Teaching Health Board: “We chose FDB OptimiseRx because it aligns to our local and national prescribing strategies, and offers us an opportunity to directly support prescribers at the point of care through EMIS Web. We are particularly keen to utilise the unique features of FDB OptimiseRx in supporting delivery of the Welsh Antimicrobial Resistance Programme by promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials in primary care.”

The messages are specific to the individual patient record within EMIS Web, TPP SystmOne, and Microtest Evolution, enabling GPs and prescribers to make real-time optimal prescribing decisions that are clinically appropriate and cost-effective for the patient in consultation.