About the Information Prescription project

Information prescriptions can be offered to anyone with a long-term condition or social care need, in consultation with a health or social care professional. Information prescriptions guide people to relevant and reliable sources of information to allow them to feel more in control and better able to manage their condition and maintain their independence.

Information prescriptions can be used as a source of key information on conditions, services and care that is seamlessly and formally integrated into the care process. They provide a way for organisations to meet patients’ rights to information to support choice and to enable people to be involved in discussions and decisions about their care, as set out in the NHS Constitution.

Why information prescriptions?

Information plays a crucial role in supporting people with long-term conditions to take care of themselves and improve their quality of life. Previously, there has been no way to ensure that a person will have access to or receive the right information when they need it most – at diagnosis and as their needs continue. Information prescriptions will give everyone access to the information they need, at the right time.

Information prescriptions can contribute to the commitments of the NHS Constitution and represent good practice for supporting patient rights. They provide a route for helping individuals access information to feel empowered and more able to participate fully in decisions about their care.

What do information prescriptions contain?

Information prescriptions contain a series of links or signposts to guide people to sources of information about their health and care – for example information about conditions and treatments, care services, benefits advice and support groups.

Information prescriptions let people know where to get advice, where to get support and where to network with others with a similar condition. They include addresses, telephone numbers and website addresses that people may find helpful, and show where they can go to find out more. They help people to access information when they need it and in the ways that they prefer.

Testing information prescriptions

To ensure the successful design and delivery of information prescriptions nationally, we recruited 20 sites to test and provide evidence of their effectiveness and their impact on the public, professionals and organisations. The information and momentum built through this piloting phase has been incorporated into the broader implementation plans.

The project was supported by a consortium of three organisations – OPM, the University of York and GfK – and overseen by a project board.

How can I get an information prescription?

If you are a professional, patient, service user, or carer, and would like to access national information on a number of long-term conditions, you can create your own information prescription on the NHS Choices website. From April 2010, you can also use the new Information Prescriptions Service (www.nhs.uk/ips). This Service pulls together reliable NHS information as well as information from key national charities and information on local services to help provide more personalised information.

This website

This website was originally set up to benefit health and social care professionals involved in the information prescription pilot sites to stay in touch, learn what each other was doing and share information. It now includes all the learning from the pilots, including the final evaluation report and the online resource pack which provides helpful guidance and templates for organisations planning or developing their own information prescription programme.

Contact us

If you would like to know more about how to introduce information prescriptions within your local organisation, please contact:
Alison Tyson
Department of Health
Patient & Public Empowerment Division
alison.tyson@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 0113 254 5512