Prescribing Analysis and Cost (PACT^®)

PACT® enables prescribers to manage, monitor and control their prescribing habits and costs.

There are two PACT^® reports:

• PACT^® Standard Report
• PACT^® Catalogue.

PACT^® Standard Report

The PACT^® Standard Report is a twelve page document which contains an analysis of the prescribing which has taken place during the quarter.

It is produced and sent automatically each quarter and is available monthly on request at the following levels:

• GP
• Practice.

The quarterly version of the report is issued automatically to all GPs for the quarters ending March, June, September and December. It is also available on request for the current and the previous quarter. The monthly report is available on request for any of the previous six months.

Prescribing by pharmacist supplementary prescribers and nurses working within a practice or directly employed by the Primary Care Trust (PCT) are included in the totals. The back page of the report shows separate prescribing totals split by:

• District Nurse and Health Visitor Formulary nurses
  
• Extended Formulary nurses / nurse supplementary prescribers
  
• Pharmacist supplementary prescribers.

Prescribers use PACT^® information to:

• improve their prescribing habits and costs
• improve their service to patients
• develop and monitor prescribing formularies
• compare themselves with other prescribers.

Information provided includes a summary of prescribing costs, followed by a breakdown of prescribing, e.g.:

• the twenty leading cost drugs
• number of prescriptions prescribed
• the average cost per prescription item
• the top forty BNF sections.

In addition, each quarter the centre pages of the report provide an article discussing a different drug related issue. The editor of this article is the Senior Manager of Prescribing Services at the Prescription Pricing Authority, assisted by an editorial board consisting of both internal and external assessors, which includes representatives of the National Prescribing Centre and the NHS Executive. Additional specialist advice is obtained for individual reports.

This information is also available electronically to practices via (ePFIP) electronic prescribing and financial information for practices.

PACT^® Catalogue

The PACT^® Catalogue complements the PACT^® Standard report by providing a full inventory of the prescriptions issued for the period required.

It is available, on request, for prescribing information covering any time period of between one and twenty four consecutive months (the previous twenty four months). A catalogue is available at the following levels:

• GP
• Practice.

PACT^® Catalogues are also available for:

• an individual nurse / supplementary prescriber working within a practice
• all nurses / supplementary prescribers prescribing on behalf of a practice (includes nurses directly employed by the PCT)
• all nurses / supplementary prescribers who are employed by the PCT
• an individual nurse / supplementary prescriber who is employed by the PCT and prescribing on behalf of the PCT
• all nurses prescribing within a Community Nurse Prescribing Contract (CNPC) that the PCT has commissioned
• prescribing by a specific nurse within a CNPC that the PCT has commissioned.

The nurse PACT^® catalogue identifies the formulary from which the nurse is qualified to prescribe, e.g. Mrs. N. Smith (NPF).

More information on the PACT^® Standard report and the PACT Catalogue is available from the PPA website www.ppa.nhs.uk.

PACT^® is a registered trademark of the PPA.