22Shared Care Prescribing & 6-Month Review

Purpose

Managing patients the service continues to prescribe for because shared care was rejected, and keeping their monitoring current.

Procedure

1. Add the patient to the shared care tab with NHS number, funding stream and DOB.
2. Record the date the next prescription is due, the prescription status and any notes.
3. Record the date obs are due. Patients on shared care require contact every 6 months.
4. Sort the obs-due column chronologically to identify who is coming up, and set ad-hoc obs reminders.
5. Chase using C1. All chasing stays on this tab - patients are not moved to the obs tab.
6. Where obs are received, issue the prescription (18) and record the date sent and tracking number.
7. If the patient does not respond by the 6-month point, issue the 8-week warning (C2) and stop the medication. Record this as early shared care retained.

Fields recorded

NHS number · funding stream · DOB · next prescription due · prescription status · notes · date obs due · obs reminder set · date chased · date prescription sent · tracking number

Notes

• The service continues prescribing indefinitely where the GP has rejected shared care, on condition of 6-monthly patient contact.
• Failure to make that 6-monthly contact is what stops the medication - and is billed as early shared care retained (27).

Open points

• Whether gap-filling prescriptions carry a different billing code.

Flowchart