Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.
Hot topics
NICE issues clinical guideline on prescribing opioids in palliative care
The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued a clinical guideline (CG140) on the safe and effective prescribing of strong opioids for pain in palliative care of adults. The guideline is for first-line treatment with strong opioids for patients who have been assessed as requiring pain relief at the third level of the World Health Organization (WHO) pain ladder, and is primarily aimed at non-specialist health professionals. A costing report on the impact of implementing the guideline and a template for assessing local impact have also been issued. The report states that there are unlikely to be any significant costs in implementing this guidance as an increase in prescribing of strong opioids is not expected. Potential savings and benefits are expected:
• saving in prescribing costs for strong opioids
• improved patient comfort
• reduction in patient misinterpretations and misunderstanding in relation to opioids
• consistent advice on the prescribing of strong opioids.
US shared REMS for TIRF website now available
The access website for the shared Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for prescribing, dispensing and distribution of all Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl (TIRF) formulations in the US is now available (see our news item 20-02-2012.
GMC postpones plans for unlicensed drug prescribing
The UKGeneral Medical Council (GMC) has postponed plans which would allow doctors to prescribe cheaper off-label or unlicensed alternatives to licensed medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) opposed the proposals. Legal advice, on the European Union (EU) directive on medicinal products for human use, confirmed that unlicensed medicines could be prescribed only where there was a special need, and that this could not be taken to encompass unlicensed medicines for patients with rare conditions if there were a licensed alternative or circumstances in which commissioning bodies did not support the funding of a licensed alternative. As a result, the GMC has agreed to revert to their existing guidance on prescribing unlicensed medicines, although they are still exploring the issue as the EU directive does not specifically address prescribing drugs outside the terms of their licence. For more information click here.
NHS Evidence update on depression
NHS Evidence has issued a summary of selected new evidence relevant to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline 90 (published 2009) on the treatment and management of depression in adults. The update identifies new evidence that might reinforce or generate future change to the practice laid out in the NICE guideline. For more information click here.
Prepared by Sarah Charlesworth and Andrew Wilcock