Designing the future of medicines optimisation: A novel maturity assessment tool for next-generation hospitals

Abstract

Background: Medicines are fundamental to nearly every clinical pathway, representing the largest health intervention accessed by patients daily. In the UK, medicines expenditure constitutes the second-largest consumer of the NHS budget, with English hospitals alone spending over £11 billion on medicines in 24/25. This significant investment underscores a critical opportunity for transformative design and innovation in medicines management, particularly within the context of the next generation of NHS hospitals. The potential for impact, especially through digital and automation interventions, is immense.

Purpose: This submission introduces a medicines optimisation maturity assessment tool. Developed for the New Hospital Programme (NHP), this framework explores the 'art of the possible' through digital and automation interventions, aiming to significantly impact medicines management across both hospital and community settings.

The tool provides a comprehensive evaluation of a hospital’s current capabilities, identifies crucial areas for improvement, and offers a comparative benchmark. Its application enables organisations to gain an overview of their current baseline state, prioritise future interventions and changes effectively, embed desired outcomes within their outline business cases (OBCs), and robustly justify future investments in medicines optimisation.

Method: The development of the maturity assessment tool involved extensive, iterative co-creation with NHS medicines optimisation teams and broader stakeholders, ensuring practical relevance and clinical applicability. Primarily assessing operational and challenge areas, the tool steadfastly upholds NHP’s medicines optimisation strategic principles and vision. Its overarching values – accessibility, safety, outcomes, value-based, sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness – guide its design and application. The framework is organised around three future-focused pillars:

1. Digitisation and automation: Leveraging technology for enhanced efficiency and safety.
2. Workforce: Optimising human capital and skill sets in medicines management.
3. Operations and models of care: Redefining processes and delivery models for improved patient outcomes.

Conclusion: This innovative design tool offers a strategic pathway for healthcare providers to navigate the complexities of medicines management, fostering a future where patient care is safer, more efficient, and truly optimised. By providing a structured approach to assess, benchmark, and improve medicines optimisation, this framework serves as a critical enabler for the next generation of hospitals to deliver high-quality, sustainable healthcare.

Learning objectives

• To introduce an innovative medicines optimisation maturity assessment tool designed to highlight the critical opportunity for transformative design and innovation in medicines management, particularly through digitisation and automation.
• To demonstrate the tool's utility in enabling organisations to establish a baseline, prioritise future interventions, embed desired outcomes in business cases, and robustly rationalise investments in medicines optimisation.
• To illustrate how this tool serves as a strategic pathway to foster safer, more efficient, and truly optimised patient care, contributing to high-quality, sustainable healthcare.