In this issue
Research
Impact of an integrated pharmacy service on hospital admission costsSubscription
Northumberland was chosen as one of the national vanguard sites in early 2015, in response to the Five year forward view initiative. This article describes the evolution of the integrated pharmacy service, which now operates across organisational boundaries and in collaboration with other healthcare professionals, as well as the improvements in patient care, harm reduction and increased efficiencies achieved using a sustainable model of care.
Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing in community pharmacy to deliver appropriate interventions in respiratory tract infectionsSubscription
This pilot study sought to evaluate the potential use of point-of-care (POC) C-reactive protein (CRP) testing for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in a rural community pharmacy in North Staffordshire, UK, in conjunction with local GP practices. The study found that the use of POC CRP testing in community pharmacies has the potential to reduce the number of GP appointments caused by RTIs and, therefore, may help reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing.
Insight
Can omega-3-rich fish oil supplements reduce allergy risk in infants?Subscription
Results from a meta-analysis show that a mother’s fish oil supplementation during pregnancy may reduce allergy in her children, but the exact benefits of this supplement – and many others – are yet to be determined.
CPD article
Refractory epilepsy: management in tertiary careSubscription
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness or convulsions, associated with neurones exhibiting abnormally high electrical excitability in the brain.
Short communications
Understanding cognitive barriers to safer prescribing for frail patientsSubscription
Deciding to stop medicines that have been prescribed in line with clinical guidelines could be seen as counter-cultural. It goes against the grain for clinicians, and often patients, too. This Safer Prescribing for Frailty project used an understanding of the cognitive barriers to stopping medicines to enable general practice teams to design, test and embed ways to better meet the medication needs of their frail populations. We took a comprehensive approach to this assessment using ...
