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Dictionary of Medicines and Devices

Standardised dictionary of medicines licensed in the United Kingdom for use in the NHS.

Documentation

About this standard

Publisher
NHS England
Also known as
  • DM+D
  • Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (dm+d): Conversion
Reference code
SCCI0052 Amd 13/2013
Publication date
07/04/2017
Status
Active
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Active. Active standards are stable, maintained and have been approved, assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.

Deprecated Deprecated standards are available for use and are maintained, but are being phased out, so new functionality will not be added.

Retired standards Retired standards are not being maintained or supported and should not be used.

Standard type
Information standards
Show definitions of standard types

Collections. A Collection is a systematic gathering of a specified selection of data or information for a particular stated purpose from existing records held within health and care systems and electronic devices.

Extractions. An extraction is a type of collection that is pulled from an operational system by the data controller and transmitted to the receiver without additional processing or transcription by the sender.

Information standards. Information standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines, or definitions.

Technical Standards and specifications. Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.

Contact point

Using this standard

Applies to
  • Health and Care Organisations purchasing systems that support recording and communication of information about medicines
  • Health and Care Organisations using medicines\u0027 information for reimbursement, pharmacovigilance, drug utilisation, supply chain
Impacts on
Suppliers of IT systems that support recording and communication of information about medicines used in patient care including, but not limited to: e-prescribing, administration, dispensing, medication history, reimbursement. No changes are required to those electronic systems already using dm+d. No changes are made to the distribution of data files. Pharmaceutical companies: no changes need to be made by pharmaceutical companies supplying product details for use in dm+d. No changes to the submission process are introduced.
Conformance date
30/06/2017

Topics and care settings

Topic
  • Clinical decision support
  • Data definitions and terminologies
  • Dispensing
  • Messaging
  • Prescribing
  • Reference data
  • Tests and diagnostics
Care setting
  • Community health
  • Hospital
  • Maternity
  • Mental health
  • Pharmacy
  • Urgent and Emergency Care
Related standards

Review Information

Scope
NHS Services
Sponsor

Elizabeth Woodeson, Department of Health

Senior Responsible Officer

Alistair McDonald, NHS Business Services Authority

Business Lead
Stuart Abbott, NHS Digital
Approval date
28/03/2017
Post Implementation review Date
30/06/2018
Legal authority

Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012

This information standard is published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012

More information

This standard comprises:

  1. A model of the components required to represent a medicine used in patient care, along with additional components specific to the reimbursement process used in primary care.
  2. Content that is maintained and distributed according to approved policies and processes.
  3. A governance structure that supports requirements for an evolving but stable set of implementable terminology products.
  4. Identification of medicines within the supply chain by the inclusion of GS1 GTIN codes where known.

The scope of the standard in terms of content is for medicines only; medical devices are currently excluded. The primary purpose is to support interoperability. Therefore electronic systems that exchange or share information about medicines relating directly to a patient’s care must adhere to the standard by using dm+d identifiers and descriptions when transferring information.

Page last updated: 21 June 2024