Policy paper

Scope of the prescribed medicines review

Published 20 July 2018

© Crown copyright 2018

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescribed-medicines-review-scope/scope-of-the-prescribed-medicines-review

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care commissioned Public Health England (PHE) to review the evidence for dependence on, and withdrawal from, prescribed medicines. The review was launched in January 2018 and is due to report in spring 2019.

The review will bring together the best available evidence on:

  • prevalence and prescribing patterns
  • the nature and likely causes of dependence and the short term discontinuation or longer term withdrawal symptoms associated with prescribed medicines among some people who take these medicines
  • effective prevention and treatment of dependence, withdrawal and discontinuation syndrome for each drug category

Included within the scope of the review are:

  • adults (age 18 and over)
  • dependence, withdrawal and discontinuation syndrome
  • benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, GABA-ergic medicines, opioid pain medications, antidepressants
  • community prescribing

The review will exclude or will not cover:

  • cancer and terminal pain
  • over-the-counter medicines
  • prescribing in hospitals and prisons
  • other medicines, such as anti-psychotics, stimulants, ‘smart drugs’, anti-obesity drugs

Methods for the review will include:

  • mapping of medicine categories, conditions and guidance
  • analysis of prescription and GP patient data
  • an expert group to advise on methods and content of final report broader stakeholder engagement
  • a call for papers and evidence, including published research and reports in the grey literature (these are reports published by organisations outside of commercial or academic channels) including those that collate personal experiences
  • a literature review to summarise the evidence on causes, harms and effective prevention and treatment
  • a report of the evidence review which will be independently peer reviewed
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