The Medicines Value Programme has been set up to improve health outcomes from medicines and ensure the NHS is getting the best value from the NHS medicines bill. It aims to:

• Enable people to access treatment that is clinically effective, based on the latest scientific discovery, at as low a price as possible; and
• Support people to take their medicines as intended, with appropriate medicines reviews, so that they get the health outcomes they want. 

The programme follows on from Next steps on the NHS five year forward view and the Carter report. It is made up of four workstreams:

1. Policy framework – the policy framework governs access to and pricing of medicines within the NHS, working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

2. Commercial arrangements – the commercial arrangements that influence price, including the work of NHS England’s Commercial Medicines Unit and Commercial Team.

3. Optimising the use of medicines

• developing and supporting the work of the four Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees to drive the changes that are needed in prescribing and medicines use;
• improving health outcomes from medicines through improving patient information, making best use of the clinical skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and implementing clinically effective prescribing and medicines reviews;
• supporting the anti-microbial resistance campaign – which focuses on reducing the overuse of antibiotics;
• increasing the use of best value biological and generic medicines, including biosimilar medicines where appropriate;
• decreasing or stopping the use of medicines which are neither clinically- or cost-effective; and
• implementing the quality and innovation goals – known as a ‘CQUIN’ – for medicines optimisation within specialised services.

4. Developing the infrastructure – the programme covers the entire NHS system of secondary and primary care and involves a wide range of organisations including NHS Improvement and Health Education England.