The purpose of this SIG is to address the challenges facing all health and social care providers in managing medicines.
Effective medicine management is fundamentally important for patient care. In England, the Care Quality Commission perennially highlights medication related problems faced by care homes in their reports and surveys. Regarding NHS acute hospitals, the Carter Review (2015) into operational productivity and performance recommended a “hospital pharmacy transformation programme” which promoted the role of pharmacy staff in medicine optimisation, governance and safety whilst reducing their direct involvement in medicine management that was not patient-facing.
For health and social care providers, medicine management is dependant on the quality of processes which can include: prescribing; procurement; ordering; dispensing; receipt; handling; storage; disposal; record-keeping; administration or supply to patients.
Options to improve the quality and efficiency of medicine management in hospitals include electronic prescribing and administration systems; consolidation of hospital manufacturing units; robotic dispensing; outsourcing outpatient dispensing; rationalising the supply chain; and consolidating stock holding.

This SIG is open to all stakeholders who wish to get involved with improving the quality of medicine management.