The Medicines Management Programme aims to promote safe, effective and cost effective prescribing. 

In 2013 the HSE’s multi-disciplinary Medicines Management Programme (MMP) was established. The MMP works with the National Medicines Information Centre (NMIC) and the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) in collaboration with the HSE-Primary Care Reimbursement Service (HSE-PCRS) to provide sustained national leadership relating to issues such as the quality of the medicines management process, access to medicines and overall expenditure on medicines.

The Medicines Management Programme has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing evidence-based and cost-effective prescribing nationally. Some examples include:

• The Preferred Drugs initiative, which identifies a single ‘preferred drug’ within a therapeutic drug class, offers prescribers useful guidance on selecting, prescribing and monitoring a drug for a particular condition. For each Preferred Drugs evaluation, useful ‘Prescribing Tips and Tools’ and ‘Information for Patients’ are also available to download.
• Prescribing Tips and Tools for the New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) offer clear, concise guidance on the prescribing and monitoring of these drugs for their licensed therapeutic indications. 
• Prescribing and Cost Guidance focus primarily on the associated costs of particular treatments, as well as providing useful information for prescribers and other healthcare professionals regarding the prescribing, monitoring and reimbursement of these treatments.

On-going MMP projects are listed under Consultation.