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About the Information Prescription pilot sites

Information prescriptions pilot sites have been developing and testing the process for people to receive information prescriptions, working to inform the national implementation of information prescriptions.

Twenty sites around England piloted information prescriptions for people with long term conditions and care needs. These sites started work in January and February 2007, and ran until the end of January 2008. A detailed breakdown of the pilot sites is given in the Department of Health press release of 27 March 2007.

The pilots were based in a range of health and social care organisations, including primary care trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, local authorities, GP surgeries and the voluntary and community sector. Pilots covered a range of primary, secondary, tertiary and social care settings. They focused on a diverse range of long term conditions and care needs. Some pilots built on existing practices, or were developed with the help of voluntary organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancerbackup; others started from scratch.

To design the process of delivering information prescriptions, pilots needed to consider how to:

  • identify content sources that people should be signposted to
  • establish directories of content and compile the links that will point to the content
  • generate a template to determine how a personalised information prescription is created and formatted for a specific point on a care pathway
  • issue an information prescription to a patient or social care user
  • determine the different options for dispensing the information contained in the prescription and how patients can chose which method is best for them
  • ensure that the process is inclusive so that anyone can access information prescriptions.

You can find information about the pilot sites, their project plans, the work they undertook and the key stakeholders they involved in their work in the pilots section of this site.

Reports from action learning sets and conferences

An action learning network was set up to help pilot sites work together and learn from one another. Several workshops and conferences were held. You can read reports of these:

Presentations from pilot sites