Major NHS prescription data changes on the way for UK pharma

UK pharmaceutical companies will soon be able to see the impact of new product launches, gauge medication adherence and even assess doctors' willingness to see sales reps, all at the most local level ever.

All of this, and more, will be made possible by government 'open data' plans, which will initially see detailed prescription data made public later this year.

The changes will be examined in detail on July 19, 2012, in a free webinar, making the most of the NHS information revolution, from Datapharm in association with PMLiVE's publisher PMGroup.

The prescription data being released by the government will be derived from complete census data and it is being made available at no cost. It offers the potential to provide a more accurate view of the market that is presently possible.

It will be followed by GP outcomes (QOF) datasets, data from hospital episode statistics (HES) and market access data, but the information is stored in different formats and across different silos.

This threatens to turn a massive opportunity into a real challenge for the pharmaceutical sector and Datapharm will explore how companies can make the most of this data revolution.

Datapharm has been working with the NHS Information Centre and, with input from a number of pharmaceutical companies, plans to consolidate and integrate the disparate data sets in a way that is tailored to pharma's needs.

Webinar attendees will hear what the medicines information company has learned about the challenges pharma faces when working with the disparate data sources, and then have the chance to share their perspectives on how this challenge might best be met. 

• Register now for the 'Making the most of the NHS information revolution' webinar