Too often patient concerns over treatment are trivialised or ignored — this must endSubscription
Expert patient Andrew Taylor lost a decade of his life to crushing side effects after being prescribed steroids against his wishes, and he was only helped when healthcare professionals started to really listen.
We pharmacists are risk-averse but it is logical that we should all independently prescribe on registrationSubscription
In light of the shifts in healthcare practice that have been expedited during the COVID-19 pandemic, one important change that is long overdue is ensuring pharmacists have a much bigger role in prescribing, says Anthony Cox.
We can manage patients’ moves off the bipolar treatment Priadel successfullySubscription
The imminent withdrawal of the most popular UK brand of lithium is causing confusion and distress, but this can be managed successfully if pharmacists take a strategic approach.
Evidence shows the antibiotics market is failing, but here is how it can be revivedSubscription
A core group of pharmaceutical companies are making progress in tackling the spread of antimicrobial resistance, but change is not happening at the scale needed to radically impact the threat from drug resistance.
Harpreet Chana: ‘Pharmacists put the needs of everyone before ourselves’Subscription
The founder of the Mental Wealth Academy speaks about why the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in mental health issues and how pharmacists can support each other and their patients.
Warwick Smith: ‘The pandemic has removed factors that allowed us to be resilient for Brexit’Subscription
The director general of the British Generic Manufacturers Association speaks about how manufacturers are planning to juggle Brexit with COVID-19, and what the government can do to help.
Roger M. Perlmutter: 'The free flow of scientific talent in and out of the UK is incredibly important'Subscription
Roger M. Perlmutter is the executive vice president of Merck Sharp & Dohme, and president of MSD Research Laboratories. On a visit to London, he caught up with Gino Martini, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, for a chat about the future of pharmaceutical research and his experiences of the industry.
Elsy Gomez Campos: 'There are too many excuses justifying the unjustifiable'Subscription
The president of the UK Black Pharmacists Association speaks about the discrimination her members face every day and how pharmacy can tackle it.
Medical cannabis has yet to live up to the hypeSubscription
Two years since legalisation, prescribers need convincing that medical cannabis is an effective therapy option.
Pharmacies must be at the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccination campaignSubscription
It will not be easy to deliver the huge COVID-19 vaccination programme, but there is no doubt that the profession can step up to the challenge, with community pharmacy playing a vital role.
We must learn the lessons from PriadelSubscription
The discontinuation of Priadel shows we need a tougher regulatory environment to prevent firms making commercial decisions that put vulnerable patients at risk.
We’re running out of time to tackle COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
The seeds of doubt are being sown before a vaccine has even been approved. It is time to prepare the public for what could be a significant hurdle for any COVID-19 vaccine.
Medication in contemporary music: what precisely are our patients listening to?Subscription
Contrary to popular belief, modern music often references legitimate medications, as well as illegal substances — understanding societal beliefs around drugs can help us help our patients.
Patients are at risk of falling through gaps in anticoagulation care — but pharmacy can helpSubscription
The pandemic has brought with it big changes for patients who require anticoagulation, but pharmacists’ involvement means no patient should be overlooked, says anticoagulation pharmacist Frances Akor.
Why ‘epidrugs’ will be the next major focus for precision medicineSubscription
It is not just our genes that dictate how our bodies cope with disease and respond to drugs — by identifying the modifications to our DNA strands, and the histone proteins that regulate gene expression, we can uncover a whole new direction for diagnostic biomarkers, therapeutic biomarkers and drug targets.
Down, but not out: hydroxychloroquine could still have a role against COVID-19
Ongoing research may yet prove that the 4-aminoquinolones are an effective prophylactic medication in those at risk of developing COVID-19.
How our pharmacy-led medicines information service supported clinicians on the COVID-19 frontline
Cristina Coelho, lead pharmacist in medicines information at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, on how her team of pharmacy professionals were indispensable in providing the latest and most accurate new COVID-19 information to clinicians on the ground.
I was incensed by society's misconception of pharmacy, so I wrote a book on it
Preregistration pharmacist and book lover Janelle Soong was shocked by the perception that pharmacists ‘just stick labels on boxes’, so she collected her favourite real-life tales to show what pharmacy is really about.
Why pharmacy students should know about the Yellow Card scheme
An initiative at the University of Bradford is seeing students champion the Yellow Card reporting scheme. Here’s how it’s making them better students and, ultimately, better pharmacists.
Our pharmacy's car-park pop-up flu vaccine service proves that setting competition with GPs aside can benefit patients
Keen to vaccinate as many patients as possible against flu this year, manager David Gallier-Harris set about collaborating with his local GPs to offer a joint flu vaccination service from his pharmacy’s car park.
Uncollected discharge medicines on mental health wards and the impact on medicines-related readmissionsSubscription
Unplanned hospital readmission figures are frequently used within healthcare as an indicator of quality, with rapid readmissions, particularly those within 30 days, being considered poor.
How patient-centred are you? No, how patient-centred are you really?Subscription
All pharmacists should consider a research fellowshipSubscription
The regulator should have given preregistration students full registration by trusting honest accounts from their tutorsSubscription
Peter Hylands (1946–2019) Subscription
As the first pharmaceutical scientist member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Peter Hylands’ respected and varied career specialised in natural products research.
Stewart Adams (1923–2019)Subscription
Having fallen into the pharmacy profession “purely by chance”, Stewart Adams OBE went on to discover ibuprofen, one of the world’s best selling anti-inflammatory painkillers.
‘Pioneer of pharmacy’: Graham Calder (1933–2018) Subscription
Described as a ‘pioneer of pharmacy’, former chief pharmacist of Scotland Graham Calder has been an inspiration for many pharmacy professionals during, and since, his varied career.
William Charles Evans (1924–2018) Subscription
Author of Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy, a seminal text on the chemistry and uses of medicinal plants, William Charles Evans was a prolific researcher and educator throughout his 60-year career.
