High Cost Drugs – Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland – August Blueteq Brief
New Health Minister Appointed Mr Robbie Butler was appointed Minister of Health for Northern Ireland on 20 August 2026, replacing his predecessor in the role. The Department of Health’s existing policy commitments, including the 2025 Medicines Access Review recommendations, remain in place pending any new ministerial direction. 1 Medicines Access Review — Implementation No announcement of […]
UK–US Arrangement — Relevance to Northern Ireland
The VPAG rebate is negotiated on behalf of all four UK nations. The reduction of the VPAG rebate from 22.9% to 14.5% therefore applies to NI as does the commitment to increase spending on innovative medicines from 0.3% to 0.6% of GDP. Northern Ireland endorses NICE technology appraisals through a separate DoH NI process. The […]
DoH NI MEDICINES ACCESS REVIEW — RECOMMENDATION 2
The DoH NI Medicines Access Review (2025) specifically names the Blueteq HCD system as the recommended replacement for cost-per-case commissioning.
- Collect AWMSG and NICE criteria evidence directly from clinicians across all 7 Health Boards
- Using Auto-Approval, ensure Clinicians receive approval to treat immediately — average 5–10 minutes
- Keep a complete audit trail: cross-border Wales/England treatments fully tracked
- Validate/Challenge provider invoices including cross-border providers
Introduction
Paperless Solution - Replacing Cost-Per-Case
Getting rid of paper forms to collect evidence of NICE criteria being followed not only streamlines the process for the commissioner, it also gives the clinician a transparent view of the process on their screens. Crucially, Blueteq covers both hospital prescribers and GP practices: the system automatically routes each request to the correct commissioner based on the patient's registered practice. With the multitude of different commissioners across England, the system effortlessly guides each user to the correct form to complete.
Request History & Document Storage
The Blueteq HCD system provides a complete patient history, storing and displaying all information and documentation in one place in a paperless environment. No filing is required and all vital data is immediately to hand.
Customised Reporting for SPPG & DoH NI
A full range of reports are available on demand to help SPPG prioritise workloads, ensure all requests are processed within target timescales, and provide DoH with concrete, data-led assurance of NICE TA implementation across the five HSC Trusts.
Without Blueteq
Cost-per-case forms: burdensome, inaccurate and resented — the DoH NI Medicines Access Review 2025 describes CPC forms as ‘a very inaccurate tool’; consultants stop or refuse to complete them once a medicine is accepted into practice.
No real-time oversight of £250m HCD spend — HSC spend on commissioned high-cost medicines has risen 85.6% since 2017/18; SPPG cannot tell in real time whether approved patients are receiving treatment or what it is costing.
Service Notifications issued 79–359 days after medicines are in use — clinicians start using medicines on a cost-per-case basis before the SN is issued, without knowing whether additional infrastructure funding is available.
Postcode prescribing risk across five HSC Trusts — where commissioning decisions are unclear, individual Trusts decide case-by-case; access to a medicine can depend on which Trust the patient attends.
For Commissioners / Stakeholders
- Save on invoice values through discrepancy detection
- Reduce unnecessary spending via eligibility gate-keeping
- Maximise budget impact on patient care
- Match invoices to requests in minutes
- Combined clinical + financial data in one secure system
- Advanced reporting drives quality improvements
For Hospitals / Providers
- Streamline workflows — average form 5–10 minutes
- Treatments guaranteed to align with commissioning criteria
- Prompt payment ensured for all authorised requests
- Simplified submissions through one unified platform
- Precise eligibility forms based on each patient's criteria
- Full visibility of request status and historical data
"Adoption of an electronic system such as Blueteq … would enable replacement of interim cost-per-case arrangements."
£250m
Annual HSC HCD spend
85.6%
Spend rise since 2017/18
5
HSC Trusts covered
Rec. 2
Names Blueteq by name
WHY CHOOSE US
Unique Benefits Summary: High Cost Drugs - Northern Ireland
- Named in DoH NI Medicines Access Review 2025 — Recommendation 2 specifically names the Blueteq HCD system
- Replaces cost-per-case — the Review describes it as 'a very inaccurate tool' frustrating every stakeholder group
- Import 200+ pre-built forms from NHS England and Wales — as Wales did, removing most implementation burden
- Epic/Encompass integration in active development — deploy now and link when ready across all five HSC Trusts
- IFR software add-on available — reduce administrative burden of the NI IFR Scrutiny Panel process
- Real-time financial oversight of £250m HCD spend — links approved patients to actual prescribing and cost
- VPAG funding route identified in the Review — Wales uses VPAG to fund exactly this type of implementation
- UK-Based. Employee-Owned. Independently Governed.
UK-Based. Employee-Owned. Independently Governed.
Blueteq is an employee-owned company headquartered in Havant, Hampshire. All data is held on Blueteq’s own UK infrastructure, subject to UK law and governance. There are no external shareholders, no overseas parent company, and no venture capital or private equity interests.
