Skip to main content

Blueteq

The NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC) Blueteq High Cost Drugs (HCDS) System
 

 

Blueteq is a web-based software system used to manage, authorise and procure HCDS across a wide range of healthcare conditions. The system improves governance, provides faster medicines access for patients and ensures that medicines are prescribed in accordance with Health Technology Appraisal guidance issued by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

It ensures that all NWJCC commissioned treatments prescribed in line with AWMSG and NICE technology appraisal (TA) and highly specialised technology (HST) guidance including medicines commissioned directly by NWJCC are reimbursed.

Blueteq records data on patient demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment histories, treatment response and safety in a standardised format. This information can be used to monitor and report on treatment efficacy and tolerability, facilitate service development and workforce planning.

Implementation

Blueteq was introduced across NHS Wales for NWJCC commissioned medicines in April 2021 when the NWJCC was known as the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC). The roll out for the remaining HCDS in secondary and primary care started in April 2023 and is led by All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC) who supports AWMSG and its subgroups.

Cross Border

Close cooperation with both NWJCC and NHS England (NHSE) has enabled Blueteq to include sufficient functionality to ensure cross border treatments can be catered for seamlessly and attributed to the correct organisations.

  • NWJCC will be able to report on treatments undertaken regardless of where the patient is treated.
  • Health Boards will be able to view and report on both the treatment of their own patients and by who and where they are treated.

Review, Continuation and Outcome Data

Where appropriate a review period can be included and stored for particular treatments and will then be calculated and recorded against each notification.

  • Users will be able to produce reports or have views of treatments approaching the review date and highlight those that are beyond the review date.
  • Monitor long term illnesses; forms can be created and updated at appropriate review stages.
  • Data will be continually recorded, e.g. treatment/disease scores showing disease progression over time, e.g. Quality of Life Scores (SF-36), DAS scores, EDSS, etc.
  • Improve the care of patients and ensure the best use of resources.
  • To allow for a standardised approach to data collection that is very similar to NHSE.

Documents

Approval of a High Cost Drugs (HCD) request is accomplished by the completion of a simple tick box ‘form’ which lists the eligibility criteria for that medicine.

The following spreadsheets shows the ‘live’ forms that are enabled on the Blueteq system and those still in development.

Prior approval

If a Blueteq is not yet available for a NWJCC commissioned HCD (e.g. still in development), please continue to use our Prior Approval process by accessing the Prior Approval Form

Further information on this process can be accessed by contacting the NWJCC Patient Management Team at nwjccipc@wales.nhs.uk

Contact information and Blueteq access

Further Information