Wessex, Oxford & West of England Polypharmacy Action Learning Set

These sessions are for GPs and primary care clinicians with 12 months’ prescribing experience, from the Wessex, Oxford and West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) areas.

The Polypharmacy Action Learning Sets (ALS) are an evidence-based learning model developed by Wessex AHSN in partnership with Health Education England. Join our Polypharmacy Action Learning Sets (ALS) to help build your confidence in, and understanding of, the complex issues surrounding stopping inappropriate medicines safely. Delegates need to attend all three sessions.

The ALS will also help Primary Care Networks (PCNs) deliver the Medicines Optimisation elements of the Directed Enhanced Services and Investment and Impact Fund contracts, and meet recommendation 18 of the National Overprescribing Review report.

This online interactive course is held over three half days (9.30am – 12.00pm) over two months:

Session 1: Weds 10 May: Polypharmacy – the scale, impact and challenges around stopping medicines safely. We will define inappropriate medicines and look at the patient perspective.

Session 2: Weds 24 May: What tools are available to help? We will explore shared decision making, the evidence and tools to help conduct high quality medication reviews.

Session 3: Weds 7 June: Workshop and facilitated discussions with consultant geriatricians to share experience of medication reviews and consolidate learning.

In order for you to get the most from these sessions, we try to ensure a balance of professions among attendees and provide relevant, local polypharmacy data for you to review prior to attending the Polypharmacy ALS. To achieve this, we ask that you include your practice/PCN unique code/s on registration and confirm how long you have been a prescriber.

Before joining the ALS we ask you to indicate your level of proposed involvement. Please read and consider the three levels described below and indicate your selection upon registration:

• Level 1: Attend the programme, complete all three half days. Receive a certificate of completion and access to the resources website.
• Level 2: Level 1 plus review of prescribing data (from the NHS BSA polypharmacy prescribing comparators) as part of Day 1 and at the end of Day 3 identify an area of prescribing to focus on (e.g. anticholinergic burden). Structure project around this group of patients (to be worked on after Day 3).
• Level 3: Level 1 and 2 plus complete project and outline impact in a conference-style poster to present at a Polypharmacy QI Poster Day/Community of Practice. Completion of this level will convey ‘Polypharmacy ALS mastery status’ and will qualify you to be a local Polypharmacy Champion able to deliver elements of the programme.

Please note: we review registrants to ensure you meet our delegate criteria prior to final confirmation of your place.

Delegates are required to attend all three sessions (10 May, 24 May & 7 June 2023: 9.30am – 12.00pm) and participate in an evaluation. We will confirm your place via email.

Got a question? If you have a question about this event, please contact: medicines.optimisation@wessexahsn.net