Independent Review of Medicines Homecare in Scotland: review report and recommendations
An independent review of Medicines Homecare in Scotland covering the supply of secondary care-initiated medicines and associated care to patients in the community, with recommendations on improvements to these services.
Appendix 4 Medicines Homecare Review Call for Evidence Survey Questions
Questions for individual healthcare professionals and patient groups
1. How do your patients currently access hospital-initiated medicines and any associated monitoring or follow-up, in the community setting (e.g., where are medicines delivered to or collected from, where are required blood tests taken)?
2. What are the benefits of the current approaches to medicines homecare? Please give examples.
3. What are the challenges associated with the current approaches to medicines homecare? Please give examples.
4. Pharmaceutical care is the care provided to patients receiving medicines. This can involve, for example, blood tests, monitoring to check if the medicine is working and any medicine-related adverse side-effects. Members of the healthcare team take responsibility for ensuring the patient receives this medicine-related care with the aim of improving a patient’s quality of life. Please rate the quality of pharmaceutical care your patient group members receive through the medicines homecare service. Please provide examples.
5. How easy is it for your patients to access medicines through the current medicines homecare service?
6. What issues have your patient group members experienced with obtaining your medicines through the medicines homecare service because of your geographical location?
7. How important is the current supply route to you or your patient group members?
8. Do you or your patient group members find the current information available to the public adequate and informative? Please explain why?
9. What improvements or additional details would you or your patient group members like to have access to?
10. How would you or your patient group members like to access your hospital-initiated medicines and associated care including monitoring?
Questions for organisations and other stakeholders
11. Please outlay your involvement in medicines homecare. For example, in your role, area or organisation, how do you provide hospital-initiated medicines and any associated care to patients in the community setting. (e.g., prescribing, dispensing, monitoring and any nurse training)?
12. What are the benefits of the current approaches to medicines homecare? Please give examples.
13. What are the challenges associated with the current approaches to medicines’ homecare? Please give examples.
14. How would you rate the quality of care provided to patients through the medicines homecare service. Please provide examples.
15. How easy is it for patients to access medicines in the current medicines homecare service?
16. Please provide examples of any geographical disparities you are aware of in the medicines homecare service provision?
17. How sustainable and valuable are the current supply routes? (Consider financial and environmental sustainability).
18. What challenges are you aware of relating to scalability?
19. What upcoming changes in the medicines pipeline are you aware of that might impact the demand for and delivery of these services?
20. How do any potential or future changes to VAT rules factor into your planning and delivery arrangements for these services? What impact could changes have on services?
21. What alternative supply models, including those from other countries, are you aware of for patients to access hospital-initiated medicines and associated care?
Outsourcing hospital pharmacy outpatient dispensing
Community pharmacy enhanced services
Other
22. How feasibly could these models be applied in the Scottish Healthcare context?
23. What are the prevalent contractual arrangement issues or challenges for medicines homecare services?
24. Are you aware of the required standards for medicines homecare service provision?
Yes
No
25. Please outlay how service standards are utilised by your body, if applicable.
26. Are you aware of the enforcement mechanisms available to maintain medicines homecare service provision standards?
Yes
No
27. What enforcement mechanisms are available to ensure high standards of service delivery in the current system?
28. How effective are these methods for verifying a provider’s ability to meet quality and safety standards?
29. What do you perceive as barriers to new homecare providers entering the market?
30. Is the information currently available to the public and professionals adequate and informative?
Yes
No
31. What improvements or additional details would you like to have access to?
32. What are the potential future uses for medicines homecare services?
33. What factors might enhance a provider’s ability to deliver effective medicines homecare services?
34. What factors might hinder a provider’s ability to deliver effective services and how might these be addressed?
General feedback questions
35. Please provide any additional comments, suggestions, or insights that might aid our review?
Contact
Email: PharmacyTeam@gov.scot