Right Decisions
Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG)
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FDG PET dementia imaging
What we looked at and why

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 24^th 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 28^th February 12-1 pm
Tuesday 11^th 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

What were we asked to look at?

The Scottish Clinical Imaging Network (SCIN) asked us to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of FDG-PET imaging, compared with HMPAO (^99mTc labelled hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime)-SPECT imaging, in the diagnosis of dementia.

Why is this important?

A clinical diagnosis of dementia is based on information from different sources. An accurate diagnosis of the subtype of dementia is important, as patients with specific subtypes follow distinct clinical courses and responses to medication. Patients undergoing assessment for dementia may benefit from functional imaging to help clarify their diagnosis. In Scotland, the patients who may benefit from functional imaging are usually offered a perfusion SPECT scan, using the radiotracer HMPAO.

The SCIN considers FDG-PET a superior imaging tool, compared with perfusion SPECT, in this patient group. They also noted that while perfusion SPECT is widely available in Scotland, access to FDG-PET for people with dementia is extremely limited. A SCIN National PET-CT Review Group is considering which clinical indications would be relevant for potential PET-CT service expansion. This SHTG Recommendation will help inform a decision on whether dementia should be included within the list of indications.

What was our approach?

We produced an SHTG Recommendation based on a review of published evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of FDG-PET in the diagnosis of dementia, compared with perfusion SPECT.

What next?

This work will inform the National PET-CT Review Group decision as to whether an FDG-PET dementia imaging service should be developed as part of a potential PET-CT service expansion in NHSScotland.