FOREWORD There is much to be done to help patients, public and society more broadly get the best outcomes from medicines. From patients receiving insufficient information about their medicines to hospital admissions caused by the adverse effects of medicines which could have been prevented, professionals and patients need to work much closer together to improve the quality of medicines use. Working in partnership with NHS Clinical Commissioners, NHS England has responded to requests for better coordination, collaboration and alignment across health economies and nationally, by joining up vital medicines optimisation activity through the establishment of four Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees (RMOCs) - which will operate together as part of a single system to eliminate duplication of activity across England. RMOCs will provide advice and make recommendations on the optimal use of medicines for the benefit of patients and the NHS. They will bring together decision makers and clinicians across the four regions of England, to share best practice, understand the evidence base, coordinate action and so reduce variation thus improving outcomes and value. Delivery activity for RMOCs will commence in April 2017, with all four RMOCs expected to have held their inaugural meeting by the end of June 2017. Over the coming twelve months, they will establish themselves and begin to take on the functions described in this operating model. Given that medicines remain the most common therapeutic intervention in healthcare, and colleagues in research and the broad pharmaceutical industry have worked hard to discover and develop safe and effective medicines, we must all work even harder together to ensure that individual patients and society gets as much value out of that effort as possible, and resources are used wisely and effectively. We would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the RMOC Steering Group for their strategic direction and advice during the RMOC set up process. In addition, we would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to the RMOC establishment process during the course of the past twelve months.
FOREWORD There is much to be done to help patients, public and society more broadly get the best outcomes from medicines. From patients receiving insufficient information about their medicines to hospital admissions caused by the adverse effects of medicines which could have been prevented, professionals and patients need to work much closer together to improve the quality of medicines use. Working in partnership with NHS Clinical Commissioners, NHS England has responded to requests for better coordination, collaboration and alignment across health economies and nationally, by joining up vital medicines optimisation activity through the establishment of four Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees (RMOCs) - which will operate together as part of a single system to eliminate duplication of activity across England. RMOCs will provide advice and make recommendations on the optimal use of medicines for the benefit of patients and the NHS. They will bring together decision makers and clinicians across the four regions of England, to share best practice, understand the evidence base, coordinate action and so reduce variation thus improving outcomes and value. Delivery activity for RMOCs will commence in April 2017, with all four RMOCs expected to have held their inaugural meeting by the end of June 2017. Over the coming twelve months, they will establish themselves and begin to take on the functions described in this operating model. Given that medicines remain the most common therapeutic intervention in healthcare, and colleagues in research and the broad pharmaceutical industry have worked hard to discover and develop safe and effective medicines, we must all work even harder together to ensure that individual patients and society gets as much value out of that effort as possible, and resources are used wisely and effectively. We would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the RMOC Steering Group for their strategic direction and advice during the RMOC set up process. In addition, we would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to the RMOC establishment process during the course of the past twelve months.