To ensure safe and efficient running of Medicines Information services, it is essential that appropriate procedures and policies are in place to cover all areas of practice.

Depending on the nature of the area to be covered, the risks associated with that task, the organisation you work in and the staff expected to perform those duties, there may be situations where a good practice document is more appropriate than a prescriptive SOP.

The following list suggests documents that MI centres could consider having as part of their overall approach to departmental risk assessment. The documents that are needed will vary according to the nature of the service.

Note: Business continuity planning, training plans, service specifications and scope are not considered below but are requirements for all medicines information services.

Category SOP/guidance
Enquiry Answering (General) Dealing with enquiries:
•in the absence of an MI pharmacist
•from members of the public
•from the media
•from another country
•that are inappropriate for an MI service
•that are more appropriately referred elsewhere
•that have medico-legal implications
•Guidelines for enquiry answering by non-MI staff
•Handling Ethical Dilemmas
MiDatabank/MiDBOnline MiD processes including:
•accessing enquiry manager
•creating and documenting a new enquiry including recording enquirer details, patient details, key question and background information
•recording confidential details on MiD and anonymising records
•researching an enquiry
•preparing a summary answer
•checking and authorising an enquiry (including second check on calculations)
•contacting enquirers and communicating the final answer (including scenario for out-of-office or reply not possible)
•final steps for completion of an enquiry after answer communicated before closing
•adding notes to completed enquiries
•generating statistics reports
•editing categories on master list
•accessing the administrator
•adding individuals to address book
•adding an organisation to an address book
•adding keywords
•adding sources to master list
•configuring centre-specific settings
Yellow Card submissions via MiD
Resources
•Maintenance of Standard Search Patterns
•Entering, writing and reviewing FAQs on MiD
•Guidance on the location and use of MI resources
•MI resource management (including tracking, ordering, and maintenance of up-to-date resources)
•Searching MiD by non-MI staff
•Entering bulletins onto MiD
•Obtaining journal articles (local or British Library)
•Publication production (including documentation, storage)
Management of staff resource and workload
•Managing enquiry workload
•Duty manager or team leader role/ second duty manager role
•Producing and operating an MI rota
Training
•Duty manager training
•Induction for new staff (including return to work staff)
•Completion of competency assessment for trainees
•Patient Medicines Helpline
Governance/Quality
•Complaints procedure
•Patient confidentiality in MI (including documentation and communicating patient-centred information when answering enquiries).
•External/Internal peer review
•User satisfaction survey
•Audit of service (covering organisation and process for undertaking)
•Destruction guidance
•Copyright
•Storage of archive material and past queries (also see guidance on Retaining MiDatabank Data after transitioning to MiDBOnline)
Environment
•Minimising interruptions for enquiry answering staff
•Safety and security in MI (including dealing with abusive & threatening behaviour and lone working)
Adverse Incident Reporting
•Actions to be taken in the event of an error related to enquiry answering
•Adverse Incident Reporting (including UKMi and local reporting system)
Administration (if applicable)
•Procedure for review process of PGDs
•Alterations and additions to website
•Drug Alert procedures
•Guidance on the location and use of equipment (e.g. answering machine/voicemail)

Last Reviewed: Feb 2016 - UNDER REVIEW