FOI 2025/1512

I’d like to request the following records under the freedom of information act.

By way of context, the requested records detailed below relate to the list of 16 national medicines optimisation opportunities published by NHS England each financial year since the summer of 2023. The current page is here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-medicines-optimisation-opportunities-2023-24/

1. A list of the national priorities you have been pursuing in 2025-26
2. A list of any local priorities you have been working on in 2025-26, as distinct from those in point 1 above.
3. A list of any national priorities you will be pursuing in 2026-27
4. A list of any local priorities you will be pursuing in 2026-27, as distinct from those in point 3 above.

1:          Improving valproate safety

Chronic non-cancer pain management without opioids

Low Priority Prescribing

Blood Glucose Testing Strips

Best Value Direct Oral Anti-coagulants (DOACs)

Hypertension

Patient Led ordering of medicines using NHS App

Integration of nationally commissioned community pharmacy services

Obtaining secondary care medicines in line with NHSE commercial medicines framework agreements

Using best value biologic medicines in line with NHSE commissioning recommendations

Optimising lipid management for cardiovascular disease prevention

Reducing course length of antimicrobial prescribing

2:          Sitagliptin Switches

Dapagliflozin switches (now a national priority – being worked up currently)

Shared learning from incidents, including the development of LFPSE medicines dashboard and 7-minute briefings

Critical Medicine Omissions/Time Critical Medicines scoping

Medicines Optimisation governance review

Individual locality Cost Improvement Plans

Standardisation of locally commissioned community pharmacy services

Support for public health

Supporting the community pharmacy/general practice interface

Independent prescriber pathfinder programme

Optimisation of biologic and biosimilar high cost drugs (HCD) prescribed in secondary care, including the drugs (but not limited to):

• Adalimumab
• Aflibercept
• Etanercept
• Infliximab
• Ranibizumab
• Rituximab
• Tocilizumab
• Ustekinumab

Tirzepatide / GLP-1 commissioning & prescribing position (GM) for diabetes and weight loss

Antimicrobial stewardship

Paediatric asthma guidance

Shared care protocol development for ADHD

Optimisation of oral nutritional supplements

3:          Addressing problematic polypharmacy

Improving valproate safety

Dapagliflozin switches (now a national priority – being worked up currently)

Best Value Direct Oral Anti-coagulants (DOACs)

Blood Glucose Testing Strips

Low Priority Prescribing

Independent prescribing in community pharmacy

Patient Led ordering of medicines using NHS App

Integration of nationally commissioned community pharmacy services

Obtaining secondary care medicines in line with NHSE commercial medicines framework agreements

Using best value biologic medicines in line with NHSE commissioning recommendations

Identifying patients with hypertension and starting antihypertensives where appropriate

Optimising inhaler use to improve respiratory outcomes and reduce carbon emissions

Optimising lipid management for cardiovascular disease prevention

4:          Shared learning from incidents- embedding LFPSE dashboard

Medicines Optimisation governance review

Standardisation of locally commissioned community pharmacy services

Support for public health

Supporting the community pharmacy/general practice interface

Continuation of work as per 25/26, including any new biologic and biosimilar HCDs which are coming into the medicines supply chain.

CKD medicines optimisation toolkit (primary care)

Type 2 diabetes pathway updates (SGLT2/GLP-1/insulin optimisation)

Recurrent UTI pathway update

Antimicrobial guideline updates

Menopause care prescribing pathway (primary care)

Osteoporosis / fracture prevention medicines pathway

Urology pathways (e.g., LUTS/BPH, recurrent UTI interfaces)

Drug & alcohol interface prescribing pathways (e.g., “step-down” arrangements)

Antimicrobial stewardship

COPD pathway implementation, review and optimisation workstream

Cardiovascular prevention optimisation (lipids / hypertension / secondary prevention interface)

Diabetes medicines & tech optimisation (CGM/Libre, GLP-1/SGLT2 optimisation, safety)

Local schemes not yet defined, as part of the Cost Improvement Plan (CIP)

Placeholders:

Critical Medicine Omissions/Time Critical Medicines

Reducing harm from psychotropics used for behaviour that challenges in people with Learning Disability