Supervised Consumption
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the service is to ensure compliance with the Service User’s agreed care plan, by:
- Dispensing prescribed medication in specified instalments;
- Ensuring each supervised dose is correctly administered to the Service User for whom it was intended (doses may be dispensed for the Service User to take away to cover days when the pharmacy is closed);
- Liaising with the prescriber, named keyworker and others directly involved in the care of the Service User (where the Service User has given their written permission);
- Monitoring the Service User’s response to prescribed treatment; for example,
– if there are signs of overdose, especially at times when doses are changed, during titration of doses,
– if the Service User appears intoxicated or
– when the Service User has missed doses, and, if necessary, withholding treatment if this is in the interest of Service User safety, liaising with the prescriber or named keyworker, as appropriate; - Improving retention in drug treatment;
- Improving drug treatment delivery and completion; and
To reduce the risk to local communities of:
- Overuse or underuse of medicines;
- Diversion of prescribed medicines onto the illicit drugs market;
- Accidental exposure to the dispensed medicines.
Finances
Providers will be paid according to the following schedule:
Per Supervision
The current scale of payments to pharmacies engaged in this scheme is:
- Methadone £1.50 per supervised consumption.
- Subutex/Suboxone £2.45 per supervised consumption.
Claims for this service are made via PharmOutcomes
