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Dental Prescribing App Launched

11-April-2012

Dental Prescribing, an app for use on iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®, is launched today by the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP), part of NHS Education for Scotland (NES).  Based on the popular Drug Prescribing for Dentistry guidance, the app will support drug prescribing within primary care dental practice by providing mobile access to the latest dental information compiled from the British National Formulary (BNF) and BNF for Children (BNFC).

Dental Prescribing presents advice on the management of a range of dental conditions in an easy to use, problem-oriented style. Drug regimens are displayed in a 'prescription-like' format to aid prescribing for both adults and children in primary care and, for the first time, are linked to the BNF website for information on drug interactions.  Advice on the management of medical emergencies, including drug administration, is also provided.

Professor Jan Clarkson, Director of SDCEP, said: "SDCEP is keen to employ innovative approaches to guidance implementation. This novel guidance format allows dental professionals to access up-to-date information on dental prescribing from their mobile devices and to link to the appropriate drug interaction information on the BNF website."

SDCEP is a National Dental Advisory Committee (NDAC) initiative supported by NHS Education for Scotland (NES). Established in 2004 with funding from the Chief Dental Officer for Scotland, SDCEP aims to enable improvements in the quality of dental care by providing user-friendly guidance on priority topics for dentistry in Scotland. Each guidance publication is subject to wide consultation among the dental profession and those involved in dental education to provide quality assurance and to ensure its suitability for use in dental practice.


Dr David Felix, Dean for Postgraduate Dental Education at NES, said: "NHS Education for Scotland is delighted to support the ongoing work of the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme and is pleased to see the launch of Dental Prescribing, the first app to be introduced by NES.".

"I am sure that this new way of delivering prescribing guidance will appeal to many in the dental profession and will build on the success, popularity and usefulness of the printed guidance. By promoting the development of new thinking and facilitating the adoption of evidence based practice, SDCEP's work continues to make an important contribution to the modernisation of dental services. This will help maximise improvements in oral health and to the overall quality of patient care in Scotland."

The Dental Prescribing app, which has been developed in collaboration with Waracle, Dundee, is now available to purchase from the App StoreSM. Further information on the work of SDCEP is available on its website www.scottishdental.org/cep.


For further information please contact the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme, Dundee Dental Education Centre, Frankland Building, Small's Wynd, Dundee, DD1 4HN, Tel: 01382 425751 or scottishdental.cep@nes.scot.nhs.uk

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

1. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is NHSScotland's Education and Training Body. We provide educational solutions that support excellence in healthcare for the people of Scotland. We work in close partnership with a range of partners to deliver our vision of Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland.
2. NES is responsible for the implementation of the workforce development aspects of the Scottish Government's Dental Action Plan.
3. A JPEG of the Dental Prescribing app is available by contacting Jennifer McColgan, PR & Marketing officer at NHS Education for Scotland by email: jennifer.mccolgan@nes.scot.nhs.uk or tel. 0141 352 2922 / 0131 313 8061.
4. Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.