Collaborative critical care prediction and resource planning during the COVID-19 pandemic using computer simulation modelling: future urgent planning lessons.

In March 2020, epidemiological modelling of COVID-19 predicted overwhelming demand on healthcare resources, yet data that emerged painted a different picture. Our management science health systems team at the University of Strathclyde collaborated with one NHS organisation to contextualise national policy and predict local resource needs before the pandemic took hold. Using action research, we combined organisational expertise, local and international data, and healthcare systems expertise to create a discrete event simulation model that predicted concurrent resource use over the first 10 weeks of the pandemic with realistic estimates of uncertainty.

What Matters to Us: Impact of Telemedicine During the Pandemic in the Care of Patients With Sarcoma Across Scotland.

Purpose: In Scotland, approximately 350 sarcoma cases are diagnosed per year and treated in one of the five specialist centers. Many patients are required to travel long distances to access specialist care. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a number of rapid changes into the care for patients with cancer, with increasing utilization of telemedicine.

Fixed dose drug combinations - are they pharmacoeconomically sound? Findings and implications especially for lower- and middle-income countries.

: There are positive aspects regarding the prescribing of fixed dose combinations (FDCs) versus prescribing the medicines separately. However, these have to be balanced against concerns including increased costs and their irrationality in some cases. Consequently, there is a need to review their value among lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) which have the greatest prevalence of both infectious and noninfectious diseases and issues of affordability.

Prescribing trends of inhaler treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease within a resource-constrained environment in the Scottish national health service: findings and implications.

: There is an increasing prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worldwide, leading to increased inhaler use. However, there are concerns with inhaler compliance resulting in different patented inhalers and longer-acting formulations. As a result, inhalers are now among the highest expenditure items in ambulatory care in Scotland leading to multiple initiatives to keep within budget without compromising care.

Ongoing initiatives within the Scottish National Health Service to affect the prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and their influence.

Increasing use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in Scotland, coupled with safety concerns with some SSRIs, and the increasing availability of generic SSRIs, have resulted in multiple initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of their prescribing in Scotland. Our aim is to assess their influence to provide future direction.  The prescription costs analysis database was used to document utilization and expenditure on SSRIs between 2001 and 2017 alongside documenting the initiatives.