A new information standard has been published to support improved medication and allergy/intolerance information sharing across healthcare services in England.
Named the Medication Intolerance and Allergy/Intolerance Data Transfer, it is aimed at standardising medication message content, thereby enabling the transfer of prescription information across health and care settings.
NHS Digital said it will help reduce medicines related errors and improve patient safety and enable medicines information to be more efficiently shared between NHS and social care organisations.
It should be particularly beneficial in reducing medication errors when patients transfer between care locations.
Dr Simon Eccles, deputy CEO of NHSX and national chief clinical information officer, said: “This new standard will make medicine prescribing safer for patients and easier for clinicians, reducing errors in prescription and improving the monitoring of medications that can cause harm.
“This is the result of a true collaborative effort between NHSX, NHS Digital, industry and the frontline that will make a real difference to the care and support local clinicians can provide to their patients.”
The standard developed by NHSX and NHS Digital in consultation with INTEROPen, the Professional Record Standards Body, UK FHIR and the Interoperable Medicine Standards Working Group.
NHS and social care organisations will need to be compliant with it by 31 March 2023.
Image from iStock, Berekin Health
