To Mr John Slater
C/o
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
DWP Business Management Team
Our Ref: VTR 3758-3384
22 January 2013
Dear Mr Slater,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 1 September 2012. In this instance,
the Department failed to respond within the 20 working days. Please accept our apologies for
the undue delay in responding to your request, this was due to the technical nature of the
question and the research involved to respond to you.
You asked:-
1. Please provide all the data that LiMA holds in relation to the following medication:
Co-dydramol
Esomeprazole
Co-codamol
Tramadol
Escitalopram
Sertraline
Diazepam
Eumovate
Prednisone
Hydroxychloroquine
Sulfasalazine
2. In relation to medication please provide the source of the following data contained within
LiMA:
i. Technical
data
ii. Relationship with specific medical conditions
iii. Opinions / views
3. How has the data regarding medication been validated, i.e. has it been approved by the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society?
4. Has the Royal Pharmaceutical Society contributed to the Evidence Base held within LiMA?
Please find enclosed copies of the Evidence Based Protocols for the Disability Analyst.
These documents have been produced as part of a programme for approved Healthcare
Professionals (HCPs) to carry out medical assessments. All HCPs undertaking these medical
assessments must be registered medical or nursing practitioners who in addition, have
undergone training in disability assessment medicine and more specific training.
The training includes theory training in a classroom setting, supervised practical training, and a
demonstration of understanding as assessed by quality audit. These documents must be read
with the understanding that, as experienced medical or nursing practitioners, the HCPs will have
detailed knowledge of the principles and practice of diagnostic techniques and therefore such
information is not contained in these documents. In addition, these are not stand-alone
documents, and form only a part of the training and written documentation that a HCP receives.
As disability assessment is a practical occupation, much of the guidance also involves verbal
information and coaching. Thus, although the documents may be of interest to non-medical
readers, some of the information may not be readily understood without background medical
knowledge and an awareness of the other training and guidance given to HCPs.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to use it for
your own purposes, including for private study and non-commercial research, and for any other
purpose authorised by an exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs)
can be also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news reporting. Any
other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright
holder.
Most documents produced by the DWP and/or Atos Healthcare will be protected by Crown
Copyright. Most Crown copyright information can be re-used under the Open Government
Licence (
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/). For information
about the OGL and about re-using Crown Copyright information please see The National
Archives website -http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/uk-gov-
licensing-framework.htm .
Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information about obtaining
permission from a third party see the Inte
llectual Property Office’s website at www.ipo.gov.uk.
In answer to
Q 1 please see below all data that Logic integrated Medical Assessment (LiMA)
holds, in relation to the medication listed above:
Co-dydramol - Co-dydramol (for pain relief){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage|
dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Esomeprazole - Esomeprazole (to reduce stomach acid){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at
|Dosage| dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Co-codamol - Co-codamol (for pain relief){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage|
dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Tranadol - Tramadol (for pain relief){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage| dosage}{
|DoseFrequency| a day}.
Escitalopram - Escitalopram (for depression){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage|
dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Sertraline - Sertraline (antidepressant){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage| dosage}{
|DoseFrequency| a day}.
Diazepam - Diazepam (for anxiety){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage| dosage}{
|DoseFrequency| a day}. Diazepam (muscle relaxant){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at
|Dosage| dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Eumovate:- Data is not held on this trade name
Prednisone:- Prednisolone (for inflammation){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage|
dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Hydroxychloroquine:- Hydroxychloroquine (for rheumatoid arthritis){ taken |Regularity|}{
|Frequency|}{ at |Dosage| dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Sulfasalazine:- Sulfasalazine (for inflammatory arthritis){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at
|Dosage| dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
Sulfasalazine (for inflammatory bowel disease){ taken |Regularity|}{ |Frequency|}{ at |Dosage|
dosage}{ |DoseFrequency| a day}.
In answer to
Q2i, we are unable to provide the technical medication data source contained
within LiMA. This is because LiMA has undergone several hundred updates and to identify
where the medication information was taken from (as new medication and new names of
mediation are introduced on a regular basis) it would not be possible to identify where the
information came from.
The detailed information regarding medication on LiMA has been compiled by Atos Healthcare
using the relevant medical publications. We estimate that the cost of complying with your
request would exceed the appropriate limit of £600. The appropriate limit has been specified in
regulations and for central Government it is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of
one person spending 3½ working days in determining whether the Department holds the
information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under section 12 of the
Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged to comply with your request and we
will not be processing your request further.
In reply to
Q 2 ii there is not a relationship with specific medical conditions in LiMA.
In answer to
Q 2 iii the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) is not about creating information,
expressing opinion, entering a debate on the meaning or definition of phrases used or
educating the requestor on what things mean, therefore this question cannot be classified as
being related to the FoI Act.
In response to
Q 3 the above data has not be approved by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
(RPS).
In reply to
Q 4 the RPS itself has not contributed to the evidence base held within LiMA.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Business Management Team
e-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
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Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team,
Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two
months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a
decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk