Category list : Australia

Deprescribing: the fightback against polypharmacy has begun Subscription

Polypharmacy among older people is at an all-time high, prompting a necessary focus on withdrawing inappropriate medicines. However, evidence-based guidelines are needed to overcome barriers to deprescribing.

Why pharmacists need advanced practice specialist residences: the UK–Australia story Subscription

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has signed a partnership agreement with the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, a national professional membership body in Australia representing over 4,500 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists in training working in Australia’s hospitals and other clinical healthcare settings.

Spider venom peptide could protect against stroke brain damage Subscription

Researchers say that Hi1a, a peptide found in funnel-web spider venom, was highly neuroprotective in rats and could be used to protect the human brain from ischaemic injury caused by stroke.

Why Australia decided to make all codeine products prescription only Subscription

The recent decision in Australia to make codeine-containing medications prescription only from 2018 (The Pharmaceutical Journal online, 23 December 2016) was reported to have been met with disappointment from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Australia tightens restrictions over codeine-containing medicines

Products containing codeine will no longer be available over the counter in Australia following a review by its medicine’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Medication burden has major role in patient experiences Subscription

Analysis of 1,144 patients finds intolerable medication burden may result in non-adherence and poor outcomes.

Study shows how stress increases breast cancer metastasis Subscription

Researchers suggest aggressive breast cancer could be slowed by targeting a specific signalling loop.

UK Nurofen advertisements under scrutiny after claims they are ‘misleading’ Subscription

Nurofen Express advertisements are being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK in response to complaints that they are misleading.

UK pays less than European neighbours for cancer drugs Subscription

The price of originator cancer drugs varies widely between high-income countries and the UK pays one of the lowest prices in Europe.

Trade deal gives minimum of five years of data protection for biologic drugs Subscription

The countries negotiating the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement reached a conclusion on 5 October 2015, spelling out the data protection terms for biologic medicines.

English language tests for European pharmacists wanting to work in Great Britain Subscription

European-qualified pharmacists will have to complete the same English language tests as non-European pharmacists to work in Great Britain, say new proposals from the General Pharmaceutical Council. 

Barriers to reclassifying drugs identified by researchers Subscription

Researchers have investigated the factors that influence the likelihood of reclassification of medicines from prescription-only to being available over-the-counter.

The key to a bad hangover

Studies have shown that two key factors that explain why certain individuals are more prone to hangovers are genetics and gut microbiota.

Pharmacy schools take a global route to solving world problems Subscription

Three notable schools of pharmacy in the UK, US and Australia are working together to change education, pharmaceutical research and professional practice.

Australia moves to allow biosimilar substitution Subscription

The independent body that advises the Australian government about which drugs it should subsidise has taken steps towards allowing pharmacists and clinicians to substitute a biosimilar product for a biologic therapy.

Free trade agreements play a dangerous game with public health Subscription

Public health could be sacrificed in large trade pacts that are discussed in secrecy.

Tackling prescription drug abuse Subscription

There are signs that strategies to address prescription drug abuse are starting to work but will an increase in illegal drug use be the payoff?

The prescription opioid addiction and abuse epidemic: how it happened and what we can do about it

Opioid painkillers are supposed to provide pain relief, but there is now a plethora of injuries and deaths because they have been heavily marketed and inappropriately prescribed.

GPs in Australia urge pharmacists not to sell homeopathic products Subscription

Pharmacists in Australia have been asked to stop selling or supporting homeopathic products by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

One in ten patients modify their medication to overcome swallowing difficulties Subscription

In a survey of customers at five community pharmacies in Australia, 10.6% of respondents admitted to modifying their medication.

Appraisal processes prevent patients from accessing new anti-cancers, report claims Subscription

A report says countries that use a QALY formula to assess cost-effectiveness have less access to new cancer drugs compared with countries that use an alternative system.

Global alliance of pharmacy schools launched to boost joint research Subscription

A global alliance of pharmacy schools based in the UK, Australia and the United States has been launched to boost joint international research.

More evidence that fat is the sixth primary sense of taste

Along with salt, sour, sweet, bitter and umami, our taste buds may be able to detect fat, research suggests.

NSAIDs may help protect against skin cancer Subscription

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a class of medicines used to treat pain and inflammation, is associated with a reduced risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of skin cancer, research suggests.

Pfizer offers settlement in class action over Parkinson’s drug Cabaser Subscription

Company has offered to settle a class action brought by more than 150 patients in Australia who allege they were never warned about the side effects of treatment.

Taking stock of pharmacy: a breakdown of global workforce data Subscription

Numerous factors influence demand for pharmacists, with a rise in the number of prescriptions and more complex drug regimens increasing demand, and developments in the technician workforce and automation mitigating it in some regions.

How are medicines funded in Australia compared with the UK?

Sam Doherty completed a community pharmacy placement in New South Wales, Australia. In a series of blogs, he plans to outline the differences in pharmacy practice he experienced there.

Expanding the role of community pharmacists in primary care Subscription

Community pharmacists can achieve a greater professional role in the delivery of primary care.

UK is a leading country in self-managing medical conditions, research suggests Subscription

The UK is among the most progressive when it comes to a culture of self-management of common medical conditions by reclassifying prescription medicines to non-prescription.

How do future pharmacists view themselves and the profession? Subscription

Tomorrow’s pharmacists need to have a positive self-image and view of the profession, but there are challenges to overcome.

The supply of medicines is no longer enough to community pharmacy Subscription

Patients and governments need to be sure the services pharmacy provides are value for money.

Pharmacy-led asthma service helps patients Subscription

Service provided by pharmacists in Australia help patients manage conditions.

Australia and the gold rush pharmacists Subscription

Stuart Anderson explains how the Australian gold rush was significant in the evolving story of movement of pharmacists between Britain and its colony down under

Electronic prescribing in Australia – lessons to be learnt for the UK? Subscription

Stephen Goundrey-Smith reports from Electronic Medication Management 2012 in Melbourne, Australia

Sun, sun and more sun — how to register as a pharmacist in Australia Subscription

Wendy Thompson moved from the UK to Australia and is now a registered pharmacist there. In this article, she provides some advice on how to register and work as a pharmacist down under 

Pharmacy practice in Australia Subscription

A placement at the University of Monash, Melbourne, has given Priyesh Rawal an insight on pharmacy practice in the land down under

Australian and New Zealand APEC/CAOP accreditation examination

I would like to hear from anyone who has taken or who is intending to take this exam in the near future. As this examination is part of the formal accrediation of qualifications to work as a pharmacist in Australia/ New Zealand and a requirement in visa applications the information received will be used to compile a useful resource for those considering working in these countries.

UK academics study information quality and provision in Australia

An investigation into access and quality of patient information in Australia, being carried out by researchers from the University of Leeds, could offer insights for future practice in the UK and other countries.

Lumiracoxib withdrawn in Australia due to safety concerns

Lumiracoxib (Prexige), a COX-2 selective inhibitor used for the treatment of osteoarthritis, has been withdrawn

Australian pharmacy asthma programme succeeds

Asthma control was improved, although spirometry measures did not change

Examination introduced for registering in Australia

UK qualified pharmacists who want to work in Australia will soon have to take a competency examination before they can register, the Council of Pharmacy Registering Authorities (COPRA) and the Australian Pharmacy Examining Council have announced.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia hopes that reason will prevail Subscription

As national president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, I have been disappointed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s decision to end reciprocal registration arrangements and impose an onerous adjudication process on Australian pharmacy graduates. The current system has served both countries well for many, many years.

It is different in Australia Subscription

I am a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain of 31 years standing and a fellow (by examination), since 1961, of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. I have remained on the register of Pharmaceutical Chemists of the Pharmacy Board of Victoria since 1953. Each of the latter

Pharmacy Australia Congress Subscription

Meetings Pharmacy Australia Congress The Pharmacy Australia Congress hear about the impact the ageing population in Australia might have on the delivery of health care services there. John Bell, a community pharmacist from Sydney and a former president of the Pharmaceutical ...

Australian pharmacies to remain independent

Pharmacy in Australia Subscription

Is the grass greener in Australia? In this article, Pam Mason, PhD, MRPharmS, describes Australian pharmacy and health care

Changing pharmacy practice: the Australian experience Subscription

This article takes readers through the current political environment in relation to non-prescription medicines in Australia, describes a new training methodology, and then compares the methodology to traditional methods of training community pharmacists

Australian pharmacists to retain ownership exclusivity

A competition review in Australia has concluded that legislation which restricts pharmacy ownership predominantly to pharmacists should be retained. The review concluded that the restriction of ownership, other than in a few cases of friendly societies and some long-established corporate pharmacies allowed under “grandparenting” arrangements, was a serious restriction on competition but provided a net benefit to the community as a whole.

Australian pharmacists to get 46m pounds for medication reviews

Pharmacists in Australia are to be paid A$114m (£46m) over the coming five years for carrying out medication reviews for patients in residential care and some others in their own homes.

Look to Australia Subscription