About

Medicines are a critical part of managing many health conditions. Optimising medicines includes prescribing responsibly, in partnership with patients using a shared decision-making approach. Supporting patients using a person-centred approach has the potential to improve their experience of managing medicines, as well as symptom control. Good medicines management may also help reduce NHS costs - lessening use of health care resources caused by medicines-related harm, as well as contributing to NHS net zero targets through reducing medicines waste. 

Our research includes a focus on medicines management by a range of health professionals working in a number of health care contexts. Major research led by Professor Sue Latter has evaluated nurse and pharmacist prescribing and has significantly influenced national and international policy. Our research findings were pivotal in persuading the Government to reform prescribing legislation, empowering healthcare professionals to prescribe medicines independently. 

Our research focuses on key global issues in medicines management: 

  • Supporting medicines management for people at home in the last year of life (end-of-life)
  • Antimicrobial stewardship: understanding and promoting safe and effective prescribing of antimicrobials in hospital, primary, community and out-of-hours settings
  • Deprescribing in high-risk patient groups 

Research in the Medicines Management group is inter-disciplinary: we collaborate with leading academics and clinicians from medicine, pharmacy, psychology, paramedicine and health economics, to deliver important new evidence to influence policy and practice on this critical health care issue. Our studies include systematic reviews, qualitative research, large scale surveys, case study research, mixed methods research and feasibility trials. 

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