Appliance Prescription Management Service (Ref: 2022/S 000-032944)

The Appliance Prescription Management Service (APMS) framework by the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub is a national agreement offering trusts and public bodies access to reliable appliance prescription services and advice hubs with specialised clinical input. Covering items such as stoma and continence supplies, the framework stems from research into the regions stoma care services, aiming to enhance patient-focused services, improve care, and reduce waste.

• Delivers a better quality of life and more independence to patients
• Reduces complications through regular interactions with patients, delivering improved clinical care
• Patients remain central to decision making over which products are used and are offered a reasonable choice
• Ensures items issued are cost-effective and quantities supplied are in line with a patient’s clinical needs, delivering value for money for commissioners
• Helps patients to make an unbiased and objective choice of dispensing appliance contractor (DAC) or local pharmacy - patients can choose or amend their dispensing organisation (DAC or community pharmacy)
• Reduces overprescribing and overordering thus reducing waste and supporting potential cost saving efficiencies - suppliers will work with Participating Authorities to monitor and reduce instances of overordering
• Improves prescribing control through consistent application of prescribing guidance and locally agreed accessory formularies
• Frees up GP time by having specialist nurses managing prescriptions to add clinical value to the prescribing process
• Ensures suitable quantities and products are prescribed, reducing primary care administration time for GPs

Framework Agreement