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Flagship medicines programme

Close the medicine loop. Optimise the pathway. Verify the recovery.

Two connected solutions: Medicine Loop asks whether another supply is needed. Medicines Resource Intelligence asks whether a clinically necessary medicine is being delivered through the right resource pathway.

Question 1Need?

Should it be supplied again?

Close the repeat-supply feedback gap.
Question 2Route?

How should it be delivered?

Test formulation, route and preparation pathway.
Question 3Resource?

What does the pathway consume?

Measure pharmacy, nursing, chair, bed and aseptic capacity.
Question 4Outcome?

What was actually recovered?

Trace the intervention to an observed outcome.
Solution 1

Medicine Loop

Prevent unnecessary repeat supply before it enters the system.

Uses: prescribing, dispensing, expected consumption, medication changes, reconciliation and stock signals.

How the intervention works

Routine stable cases should pass with minimal friction. Stronger checks only appear where timing, stock, medication change or reconciliation signals suggest that another supply decision deserves review.

Solution 2

Medicines Resource Intelligence

Optimise the resource pathway for medicines that are genuinely required.

Looks at: route, formulation, preparation, aseptic production, nursing time, chairs, beds, consumables and unused preparations.

Typical opportunities

Ready-to-administer supply, route optimisation, dose banding, batching, preparation-location redesign and repeated prepared-but-unused doses, all subject to clinical governance.

Closed loop

Each cycle informs the next one.

Repeat prescribing should not restart from zero every month.

01

Prescribed

Confirm the current authorised medication and relevant recent changes.

02

Need checked

Compare the repeat request with supply timing, expected consumption, stock and medication changes.

03

Reconciled

Resolve dose changes, discontinuations, admissions, discharge changes and duplication before supply.

04

Dispensed

Supply the clinically required medicine and record quantity and timing.

05

Used or unused

Capture the strongest available signal of use, remaining stock, return or disposal.

06 · Next cycle informed

Feed the previous cycle into the next repeat decision instead of starting blind again.

Whole-pathway intelligence

Drug price is only one part of the resource footprint.

A clinically necessary medicine may still consume avoidable preparation, administration, chair, bed or staffing resource.

Core pathway questions
  • Is another supply required now?
  • Is the quantity appropriate?
  • Is the current route/formulation clinically optimal?
  • Can preparation burden be reduced?
  • Where should preparation occur?
  • Was anything prepared or dispensed but later unused?
Pilot

Three workstreams. One 20-week decision.

Full business case
Workstream A

Medicine Loop

Selected repeat-medicine cohorts across participating GP and pharmacy pathways.

Primary proof: Avoided unnecessary items, discrepancies resolved, workload, safety and patient experience.

Workstream B

Medicines Resource Intelligence

Selected high-volume or resource-intensive injectable/SACT pathways.

Primary proof: Pharmacy and nursing minutes, aseptic preparations, chair/bed capacity, pathway cost and safety.

Workstream C

Prepared-but-unused medicines

Structured capture of selected prepared medicines that are not administered.

Primary proof: Unused-dose rate, discarded value, repeated root causes and post-intervention reduction.

Verification

Only count recovery when the intervention and outcome can be traced.

Every benefit should have a Resource Recovery Record: signal, intervention, approval where relevant, observed outcome, benefit type and verification status.

Rule

Net benefit matters more than gross savings.

Cash release, cost avoidance and capacity release stay separate. If the intervention costs more professional time than it releases, it has failed economically.

Clinical safety

Resource optimisation must never become autonomous rationing.

The programme supports better-informed decisions. It does not replace prescribing authority or clinical judgement.

Safety principles
  • No autonomous stopping of clinically required medicines.
  • Clinical eligibility and prescribing authority remain with authorised professionals.
  • Deterministic, transparent rules are preferred where possible.
  • AI may prioritise or explain, but safety-critical action remains governed.
  • Clinical outcomes and unintended consequences are measured alongside resource benefit.
Every medicine should be needed, supplied in the right quantity, delivered through the right clinically appropriate pathway, and measured through to its actual use or waste.