Shared care guidelines
Introduction
Guidance is available for drugs designated Amber or Amber-G where initiation of therapy occurs in the specialist setting but, at an agreed time, prescribing and drug monitoring is taken over by primary care. Hospital specialists should request a sharing of care for amber drugs and provide written guidance on the arrangements for sharing of care between GP and hospital specialist.
All the Shared Care and Amber-G Guidelines are available here.
Shared Care Guidelines Templates
Please use the template below to produce shared care guidelines for drugs with an Amber classification.
Template for shared care (Amber) - includes Shared Care request form
Please use the template below to produce Amber-G information sheets for drugs with an Amber-G classification.
When an Amber-G drug is prescribed, formal sign up to shared care is no longer needed. A copy of the Amber-G guidance should be sent to the relevant GP when requesting that they take over prescribing.
The following form should be completed by the GP and sent to the relevant specialist if a newly registered patient is prescribed a shared care drug.
Shared care request form for those patients transferred to a new GP
Principles of Shared Care
Application of the principles will facilitate effective shared care. However, it should be noted that GPs are not obliged to enter into shared care arrangements for a particular patient simply because the relevant drug has an amber classification. The Department of Health has confirmed that clinical responsibility for the patient’s response to treatment lies with the person who signs the prescription. Read the Principles of Shared Care.
Monitoring Requirements of Specialist Drugs (Shared Care)
Please click HERE for the full list of monitoring requirements for the Specialist Drugs Scheme.