The Open Prescribing platform allows users to review data published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre by CCG or GP practice and
• see variations in costs and quantity of prescriptions across the UK
• determine the use of cost effective generic medications
• learn which General Practices and CCGs are performing the best in terms of appropriate prescribing and value for money
• create and test quality improvement initiatives
• identify the use of medications which should be prescribed less from a safety perspective
• use maps to analyse prescription performance on a geographical basis and spot trends over time
• access raw data to generate hypotheses and test interventions.
It was launched yesterday and got a lot of interest on Twitter with many people already spotting intriguing trends that need investigating. @bengoldacre feed shows most of the activity.
Check it out on openprescribing.net watch Ben's short demo and have a play!
If picked up and used by the NHS (esp GPs, CCGs, NHSE) it could save £millions and lead to better safer care.