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Important: please update your RDS app to version 4.7.3 Details with newsletter below.

Please update your RDS app to v4.7.3

We asked you in January to update to v4.7.2.  After the deployment planned for 27th February, this new update will be needed to ensure that you are able to download RDS toolkits even when the RDS website is not available. We will wait until as many users as possible have downloaded the new version before switching off the old system for app downloads and moving entirely to the new approach.

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 update to the latest release:

 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.

Right Decision Service newsletter: February 2025

Welcome to the February 2025 update from the RDS team

1.     Next release of RDS

 

A new release of RDS is planned (subject to outcomes of current testing) for week beginning 24th February. This will deliver:

 

  • Fixes to mitigate the recurring glitches with the RDS admin area and the occasional brief user interface outages which have arisen following implementation of the new distributed technology infrastructure in December 2024.

 

  • Capability to embed content from Google calendar, Google Maps, Daily Motion, Twitter feeds, Microsoft Stream into RDS pages.

 

  • Capability to include simple multiplication in RDS calculators.

 

The release will also incorporate a number of small fixes, including:

  • Exporting of form within Medicines Sick Day Guidance in polypharmacy toolkit
  • Links to redundant content appearing in search in some RDS toolkits
  • Inclusion of accordion headers alongside accordion text in search result snippets.
  • Feedback form on mobile app.
  • Internal links on mobile app version of benzo tapering tool

 

We will let you know when the date and time for the new release are confirmed.

 

2.     New RDS developments

There is now the capability to publish toolkits on the web with left hand side navigation rather than tiles on the homepage. To use this feature, turn on the “Toggle navigation panel” option at the top of the Page settings menu at toolkit homepage level – see below. Please note that publication to downloadable mobile app for this type of navigation is still under development.

The Benzodiazepine tapering tool (https://rightdecisions.scot.nhs.uk/benzotapering) is now available as part of the RDS toolkit for the national benzodiazepine prescribing guidance developed by the Scottish Government Effective Prescribing team. The tool uses this national guidance developed with a wide-ranging multidisciplinary group. This should be used in combination with professional judgement and an understanding of the needs of the individual patient.

3.     Archiving and version control and new RDS Search and Browse interface

Due to the intensive work Tactuum has had to undertake on the new technology infrastructure has pushed back the delivery dates again and some new requirements have come out of the recent user acceptance testing. It now looks likely to be an April release for the search and browse interface. The archiving and version control functionality may be released earlier. We’ll keep you posted.

4.     Statistics

At the end of January, Olivia completed the generation of the latest set of usage statistics for all RDS toolkits. If you would like a copy of the stats for your toolkit, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot .

 

5.     Review of content past its review date

We have now generated reports of all RDS toolkit content that has exceeded its review date by 6 months or more. We will be in touch later this month with toolkit owners and editors to agree the plan for updating or withdrawing out of date content.

 

6.     Toolkits in development

Some important toolkits in development by the RDS team include:

  • National CVD prevention pathways – due for release end of March 2025.
  • National respiratory pathways, optimal cancer diagnostic pathways and cancer prehabilitation pathways from the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. We will shortly start work on the national cancer referral pathways, first version due for release via RDS around end of June 2025.
  • HIS Quality of Care Review toolkit – currently in final stages of quality assurance.

 

The RDS team and other information scientists in HIS have also been producing evidence summaries for the Scottish Government Realistic Medicine team, to inform development of national guidance around Procedures of Limited Clinical Value. This guidance will in due course be translated into an RDS toolkit.

 

7. Training sessions for new editors (also serve as refresher sessions for existing editors) will take place on the following dates:

  • Friday 28th February 12-1 pm
  • Tuesday 11th March 4-5 pm

 

To book a place, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot, providing your name, organisation, job role, and level of experience with RDS editing (none, a little, moderate, extensive.)

 

To invite colleagues to sign up to receive this newsletter, please signpost them to the registration form  - also available in End-user and Provider sections of the RDS Learning and Support area.   If you have any questions about the content of this newsletter, please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot  If you would prefer not to receive future newsletters, please email Olivia.graham@nhs.scot and ask to be removed from the circulation list.

With kind regards

 

Right Decision Service team

Healthcare Improvement Scotland

 

 

Regimens and patient information

Combined hormonal contraceptive regimens

Type of regimen Period of CHC use HFI
Standard use 21 days (21 active pills, 1 ring, or 3 patches) 7 days
Tailored use
Shortened hormone-free interval 21 days (21 active pills, 1 ring, or 3 patches) 4 days
Extended use (tricycling) 9 weeks (3 sets of 21 active pills, 3 rings,
or 9 patches used consecutively)		 4 or 7 days
Flexible extended use Continuous use (more than 21 days) of active pills, patches,
or rings until breakthrough bleeding occurs for 3 to 4 days		 4 days
Continuous use Continuous use of active pills, patches, or rings None

The above table is reproduced under licence from FSRH.
Copyright Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare January 2019.

Key messages for women considering use of tailored regimens

  • The evidence from studies is that combined hormonal contraception (CHC) is as safe and at least as effective for contraception if it is taken as an extended or continuous regimen as it is when taken in a traditional 21/7 cycle.
  • A woman who is using CHC does not need to have a monthly withdrawal bleed to be healthy.
  • There is no build-up of menstrual blood inside a woman who uses CHC for an extended time without a break; extended CHC use keeps the lining of the womb thin.
  • Withdrawal bleeds during cyclical use of CHC have been reported by women who are pregnant; women should not consider monthly bleeds on CHC to be reassurance that they are not pregnant.
  • By using extended or continuous CHC the frequency of withdrawal bleeds and associated symptoms, e.g., headache or mood change, is reduced; this could be useful for women who have heavy or painful bleeding or problematic symptoms associated with hormone-free interval (HFI).
  • The ovaries start to become active during the traditional 7-day HFI. Fewer and/or shorter breaks in CHC use could mean that the risk of pregnancy could theoretically be lower with extended or continuous regimens than if a 7-day break is taken every month.
  • There can be irregular bleeding or spotting in the first few months of CHC use, particularly with extended or continuous regimens; this does not usually mean that there is any medical problem and usually improves with time.
  • The evidence from studies is that using extended or continuous regimens of CHC does not affect the return of a woman's fertility when she stops CHC.

 

The above text is reproduced under licence from FSRH.
Copyright Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare 2006 to 2016.

Patient information

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/contraception/combined-pill/

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/contraception/contraceptive-patch/

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/contraception/vaginal-ring/

 

Editorial Information

Last reviewed: 31/01/2024

Next review date: 31/01/2026

Author(s): West of Scotland Managed Clinical Network for Sexual Health Clinical Guidelines Group.

Version: 9.1

Approved By: West of Scotland Managed Clinical Network for Sexual Health