NHS IT, Records and Data

Common medicines dictionary approved

All staff must use the NHS dictionary of medicines and devices following its official approval yesterday.

The Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care has approved the dictionary (dm+d) as a ‘fundamental standard’ and the Department of Health said it will cut medical errors by ensuring information exchanged electronically and in different healthcare settings uses a single terminology.   

It is already widely used for the exchange of clinical information, including the Electronic Prescription Service and for patients’ Summary Care Records.

Dr Charles Gutteridge, National Clinical Director for Informatics at the Department of Health and Medical Director, Barts and the London NHS Trust said: “The adoption of dm+d is an important milestone. It will mean clearer and consistent communication throughout the NHS ensuring health professionals in all care settings can deliver a more integrated and safer healthcare system.

“I encourage all clinicians to accelerate their use of this common medical dictionary for the benefit of the patients we care for.”

Heidi Wright, from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), added: “The RPS supports the need for a single terminology to facilitate interoperability and to enable such initiatives as the Electronic Prescription Service. We believe that the opportunities created for using dm+d are substantial in terms of interoperability, opportunities for comparison and reducing variation, enhancing patient safety i.e. reducing risks associated with system interfaces and providing links to clinical systems such as the British National Formulary.”

The dictionary has been developed and delivered through a partnership between the Department of Health Informatics Directorate and the NHS Business Services Authority.

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