Benefits to healthcare professionals | Right Decisions

Right Decisions
Benzodiazepines and z-drugs: Quality prescribing - a guide for improvement
Back
Benefits and impact
Benefits to healthcare professionals

Please update your RDS mobile app to version 4.7.1

We are pleased to advise that deep linking capability, enabling users to directly download individual mobile toolkits, has now been released on the RDS mobile app. When you install the update, you will see that each toolkit has a small QR code icon the header area beside the search icon – see screenshot below. Clicking on this icon will open up a window with a full-size QR code and the alternative of a short URL for sharing with users. Instructions are provided.

You may need to actively install the update to install RDS app version 4.7.1 to see this improvement. Installing this update is also strongly recommended to get the full benefits of the new contingency arrangements – specifically, that if the RDS website should fail, you will still be able to download new mobile app toolkits.

To check your current RDS version, click on the three dots bottom right of the RDS app screen. This takes you to a “More” page where you will see the version number. To install latest updates:

On iPhones – go to the Apple store, click on your profile icon top right, scroll down to see the apps waiting to be updated and update the RDS app.

On Android phones – these can vary, but try going to the Google Play store, click on your profile icon top right, click on “Manage apps and device”, select and update the RDS app.

Please get in touch with ann.wales3@nhs.scot with any questions.

Prescribers have acknowledged that it can be,

‘…easier to start [psychotropic medicines] than to stop [them].’³²

This may be due to a range of perceived and actual barriers, such as a lack of healthcare professionals' confidence, knowledge or skills to support or enable review and discontinuation of psychotropic medicines, such as B-Z and antidepressants.^32,33 Some electronic clinical systems may also be limited in enabling prescribers to proactively identify people for review. The Scottish Therapeutics Utility (STU) has been developed for use in general practice in Scotland, to help identify people who may benefit from a proactive medication review. General practice staff can routinely use STU to identify and plan B-Z review and quality improvement work.

This prescribing guide provides a practical resource and examples of good practice approaches to identifying individuals at risk of medication related harm, reviewing B-Z and supporting the people in our care.