Medicines management: An integrated approach?

Abstract Medicines management is an important issue and getting it right is central to improving patient outcomes and maximising health service efficiency. Yet different professional groups have different interpretations of what it means, potentially compromising the joined-up delivery of care. As more medicines become available, there is a growing tension between containing costs and the desire to make effective treatments available to patients who could benefit. A fully-integrated medicine management programme involving all organisations across a local health economy would significantly contribute to achieving excellence in healthcare. This paper examines a major impediment to an integrated approach — the different beliefs and interpretation of what medicines management actually means and involves. The term 'medicines management' seems to have been adopted as the umbrella term for any issue related to medicines. Various aspects have been identified; however, different priorities have been allocated to each stage by key organisations within health services. As a result the activities are disjointed, and an efficient system demands an integrated approach for it to work well.