Information on medication

Hospice doctors will use their knowledge and experience when prescribing medicines, which may include the need to prescribe established medications outside of their licensed use. If you require further information please speak to the hospice doctor. Further information is available in the information on your medicines leaflet.

Information on your medicines

The vast majority of medicines prescribed by doctors are licensed, but because obtaining a licence is expensive for a drug company, often it will only cover those conditions where the medicine was initially tested and proved to be effective.

Over time, experience and/or research often shows a medicine may have other uses not covered by its licence. Even though a new use is not in the licence, a doctor is allowed to prescribe the medicine for the new use if they think it would help you.

Up to two thirds of medicines used in palliative care are prescribed to treat conditions not covered in their licence.

The manufacturer is legally obliged to provide a Patient Information Leaflet (P.I.L) with the medicine that covers its uses and side effects. The P.I.L. however must only contain information relating to those uses described in the licence.

It is for this reason that the P.I.L may not reflect the reason that you have been prescribed some of your medicines.

The following are some examples of how we use medicines in ways not listed in their licence.

• Amitriptyline - to relieve nerve pain
• Carbamazepine - to relieve nerve pain
• Celecoxib - to relieve muscle or bone pain from various causes
• Clonazepam - to relieve nerve pain
• Dexamethasone - to increase appetite, increase sense of well-being, or reduce nausea and vomiting
• Diclofenac - to relieve muscle or bone pain from various causes
• Etamsylate - to reduce bleeding from wounds and other areas
• Haloperidol - to reduce nausea and vomiting or for persistent hiccups
• Lansoprazole - to prevent the stomach side effects of some drugs
• Morphine - to help suppress coughing or reduce the feeling of breathlessness
• Omeprazole - to prevent the stomach side effects of some drugs.
• Oxazepam - to relieve breathlessness
• Paroxetine - to relieve itching
• Sertraline - to reduce sweating
• Sodium Valproate - to relieve nerve pain
• Tranexamic Acid - to reduce bleeding from wounds and other areas

If you are prescribed a medicine and it is not clear from the Patient Information Leaflet why it has been given to you, then do not hesitate to ask.

All the above medicines have a licence, but very rarely a doctor may want to use a medicine that has never been given a licence.

If this happens, then the doctor would always explain to you why they would like you to take the medicine, what side effects could occur and to confirm that you want to use the medicine.

All this would happen before you would be asked to start using any medicine