Upgrade of existing Enquiry Management Database

Description

The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board have an urgent requirement to upgrade the existing Medicines Information database (MiDatabank) so that it is more fit for purpose and reflects the changing landscape of the MI service across Wales and the UK. The purpose is to allow the database to be cloud based rather than hosted on individual organisation servers as it is currently. This would allow a single database to access, rather than multiple ones. This would also allow the Mi workforce to access the database from various locations allowing an integrated/agile approach to working. It would also provide the individual MI services to share learning from the services to drive efficiencies with a Do Once approach for Wales. The work will be delivered in phases depending on the priorities. aim is to support the safe, effective and efficient use of medicines by the provision of evidence-based information and advice on their therapeutic use. Professional pharmaceutical advice is provided in response to specific questions raised by healthcare providers involved in the management of patients and their medication. Questions are currently received via telephone, email, web portal etc. and originate from all healthcare professionals involved in a patients care from care givers to consultant doctors. In addition, at a national level the Welsh government, and other national organisations, request support from the service to facilitate development and implementation of policies and guidance at national level. As part of UKMi, the Welsh Medicines Information Centre (WMIC) is a well-established service based in the Pharmacy Department at the University Hospital of Wales. WMIC is the national MI centre for Wales, representing Welsh interests as part of the UKMI network; it functions as a local Medicines Information and Advice service to the C&VUHB, and supports the work of other local MIA centres across Wales. The centre provides UK wide specialist advice on complementary medicines and drugs in porphyria and provides a national MI role to the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacist group (NPPG). WMIC also supports the local formulary service and works closely with Yellow Card Centre Wales with the ability to report to the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme from its existing enquiry management system. There are ten local MIA centres in Wales, including the WMIC, who have different environments in which they deliver their service, but their function is broadly the same as the regional centre, delivering to their local health board, based within hospitals across Wales. All of the hospital sites in Wales have a patient help line (telephone, email) where patients and their carers can obtain advice about their medicines, some are managed by the dispensary with support from the local centre but most are managed exclusively by the local centre. The MI centres delivering an MI service currently record the enquiries received on a database called MiDatabank. The intention is to upgrade the database so that: - The improved database provides a more efficient process for handling of enquiries thereby potentially releasing time across the service. - The improved database supports an agile, mixed model workforce so that the service can be delivered irrespective of location across Wales and the rest of the UK. - The improved database would meet the needs of a national enquiry management system that the current system does not deliver. - The improved database would have the potential to strategically link in with a separate omnichannel digital solution to improve efficiency of the service. - The improved database would have the potential to support Artificial intelligence, generating content from enquiries easily. Delivery of these improvements is critical for this financial year and to ensure continuity of service and partnership with the current provider The limited timescale and budget to incorporate the technology required into an already existing database will deliver essential savings compared to designing one from scratch. The existing provider designed and developed Midatabank in partnership with UKMi and they are very experienced and knowledgeable of our core service priorities CoAcs have good relationships with all MI centres across the UK and their response to previous requests for improvements have been met with positivity, however, requests for more substantial improvements have been hindered by lack of resource and the recent pandemic A timely delivery can be achieved because a database already exists, a beta version (online solution) is available and the specification has been agreed and the relationship is already established.