March 2019
Experts from 13 national bodies, including seven Royal Colleges, have joined forces to launch new practical guidance to support doctors and other health professionals around valproate use in women and girls in their reproductive years. The ‘pan-College’ advice is based on 2018 regulations issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) around the prescribing and dispensing of valproate – but looks at the more challenging issues that clinicians across primary and specialist care might encounter in daily practice. These include transition from paediatric to adulthood services, competence to consent to treatment, and confidentiality.