Ensure individuals are assessed and coded in primary care for the condition being treated | Right Decisions

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Benzodiazepines and z-drugs: Quality prescribing - a guide for improvement
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Recommendations and guidance for healthcare professionals
Ensure individuals are assessed and coded in primary care for the condition being treated

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.

Appropriately coding of individuals’ records may enable and support proactive medication reviews and follow-up in the short- and long-term in primary and secondary care, as prescribers have indicated that:

‘...patients can get lost in the system, and that systems which adequately prompt medication reviews would be useful in broaching discontinuation with patients.’³⁸

Although current guidelines do not recommend the routine use of B-Z for the treatment or management of anxiety disorders,^15,58,59 appropriate coding of an individual’s electronic clinical records may help to identify people for review and routine follow-up. For example, using Read Coding:

Anxiety disorder such as GAD (E2002), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, Eu431)

For a polypharmacy review, if reviewing existing treatment prior to initiation of B-Z medicines, use read code 8B31B Polypharmacy medication review.

Where the condition has resolved and the B-Z has been stopped, please use the appropriate Read Code e.g. anxiety resolved (2126J). (Other Read Codes for resolution of symptoms are not currently available on general practice systems).