Shared Care Guidelines

Hospital specialist responsibility:

• Hospital specialists should request a sharing of care and provide written guidance on the arrangements for sharing of care between the GP and hospital specialist.
• This includes advising the patient's GP which medicine to prescribe.
• If a new or rarely prescribed medicine is recommended, the hospital specialist should specify the dosage and means of administration, and agree a protocol for treatment.
• Hospital specialists should explain the use of unlicensed medicines and departures from authoritative guidance or recommended treatments and provide both the GP and the patient with sufficient information to permit the safe management of the patient's condition.

GP responsibility:

• If a GP is uncertain about their competence to take responsibility for the patient's continuing care, they should seek further information or advice from the clinician with whom the patient's care is shared or from another experienced colleague.
• If the GP is still not satisfied, they should explain this to the other clinician and to the patient, and make appropriate arrangements for their continuing care.

If you have any questions or comments about the documents below, please contact the Medicines Optimisation Team at:  CAPCCG.prescribingpartnership@nhs.net

• Shared Care Guideline Template
• Shared Care Guideline Process for Approval