Pharmacists in Smoking Cessation

NEWS
HIQA publishes
standards for
a dispensing
medication note
to support safe
prescribing
In an important step in Ireland’s eHealth strategy,
the Health Information and Quality Authority
(HIQA) has published the National Standard for
a Dispensing Note including a Clinical Document
Architecture specification. This standard will support
the implementation of ePrescribing in Ireland.
Multiple standards are required to enable the
roll-out of ePrescribing nationally. To support
ePrescribing, HIQA has previously developed a
data model for prescribed medications and an
ePrescribing standard. This new standard supports
the sharing of information when a patient is
fulfilling a prescription. The standard details the
minimum amount of information that should be
recorded on a patient summary care record to
support the safe dispensing of medication.
HIQA’s Director of Health Information Rachel
Flynn said: “These Standards pave the way for
improved health services by reducing medication
prescription and transcription errors, leading to
increased quality and efficiency and safer services
for patients. Medication errors are one of the most
common adverse events in Irish healthcare, with
medication safety incidents accounting for up
to 8% of clinical incidents reported to the State
Claims Agency. ePrescribing gives health providers
an important tool to safely and efficiently manage
patients’ medications. The standard published
today supports the electronic sharing of information
regarding medications dispensed to a patient and
provides a mechanism for safely exchanging this
information in electronic documents.”
The National Standard for a Dispensing Note
including a Clinical Document Architecture specification
is available online at http://bit.ly/2jOmKlP.
National Standard for a Dispensing Note
including a Clinical Document
HIQA announces public
consultation on first EU
HTA to include e-cigarettes
as an intervention for
quitting smoking
HIQA has commenced a national public consultation on a health
technology assessment of smoking cessation interventions.
This independent analysis by HIQA identifies what improvements could
be made in the mix of interventions offered by the HSE to increase overall
quit rates at an acceptable cost. The findings will inform the development
of a national clinical guideline to guide healthcare professionals and
smokers on how best to quit smoking successfully.
HIQA’s Director of Health Technology Assessment Dr Máirín Ryan said,
“This analysis examines the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness
of the smoking cessation interventions available in Ireland that can
be used to help smokers quit for good. These include medicines such
as nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and antidepressants, as
well as e-cigarettes and behavioural interventions, such as counselling
and telephone support. HIQA also specifically examined the clinical
effectiveness of therapies in pregnant women, and those attending
secondary mental health services.”
The HIQA assessment is the first of its kind in the EU to examine the
cost-effectiveness of e-cigarettes.
Significant changes have taken place in smokers’ choice of cessation
support since the arrival of e-cigarettes on the market five years ago. This
analysis looks at current uptake rates of e-cigarettes among those trying
to stop smoking in Ireland, as well as trends in other countries, while
acknowledging that research into e-cigarettes is only beginning.
Dr Máirín Ryan said, “This HTA found a high level of uncertainty
surrounding both the clinical and cost-effectiveness of e-cigarettes. While
the long-term effects of using e-cigarettes have not yet been established,
data from Healthy Ireland reveals that 29% of smokers currently use
e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking. HIQA’s analysis shows that
increased uptake of e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting would increase
the number of people who successfully quit compared with the existing
situation in Ireland and would be cost-effective, provided that the currently
available evidence on their effectiveness is confirmed by further studies.”
A public consultation seeking feedback on this report is open until
3 February 2017. Following this, a final report will be prepared for
consideration by the HIQA Board, before being submitted to the Minister
for Health and the HSE. The report, along with details on how to take part
in the consultation, is available at www.hiqa.ie.
Architecture specifiction
IPUREVIEW FEBRUARY 2017 61