title: Reviewing prescription spending and accessory usage.
abstract: This article aims to explore the role of the stoma nurse specialist in the community and how recent initiatives within the NHS have impacted on the roles in stoma care to react to the rising prescription costs in the specialty. The article will explore how the stoma care nurse conducted her prescription reviews within her own clinical commissioning group (CCG). The findings of the reviews will be highlighted by a small case history and a mini audit that reveals that some stoma patients may be using their stoma care accessories inappropriately, which may contribute to the rise in stoma prescription spending. To prevent the incorrect use of stoma appliances it may necessitate an annual review of ostomates (individuals who have a stoma), as the author's reviews revealed that inappropriate usage was particularly commonplace when a patient may have not been reviewed by a stoma care specialist for some considerable amount of time. Initial education of the ostomate and ongoing education of how stoma products work is essential to prevent the misuse of stoma appliances, particularly accessories, as the reviews revealed that often patients were not always aware of how their products worked in practice.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nurse Specialist in Stoma Care for Hollister Limited, based in East Kent and Medway (Kent).
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oxenham
mesh_terms: D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D013041:Specialties, Nursing; D013222:State Medicine; D054047:Surgical Stomas; D006113:United Kingdom