Latest opinion
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What you are saying about fast-track medical training for pharmacistsSubscription
Your responses to our call for opinions on a course that could allow a pharmacist to become a doctor within five years’ training.
The government pledged to commission PrEP across the board from April 2020, so why are we still in the dark about it?Subscription
There are still no details on how the health and social care secretary’s promise of routine access to HIV prevention treatment will be fulfilled.
Refusing to supply emergency hormonal contraception undermines our profession — no pharmacist should do itSubscription
Allowing personal beliefs to prevent patients accessing emergency hormonal contraception goes against the patient-centred care standards that pharmacists should uphold.
Antidepressants are being used as stopgaps: patients need a range of therapies nowSubscription
GPs need shorter waiting times for their patients, more training and a greater range of psychological therapies to refer to so that antidepressants are no longer used as a ‘stopgap’.
Nikki Kanani: 'Shortages of the right pharmacists in some areas has been an issue'Subscription
The director of primary care at NHS England speaks about growing up in a pharmacy, her hopes for the sector and how to protect pharmacists from burnout.
Taiwo Owatemi: 'Like every pharmacist in the country, I’ve been frustrated by medicines shortages'Subscription
How pharmacy led Taiwo Owatemi, Labour MP for Coventry North West, to her new role in politics.
Jamie Waterall: ‘Pharmacy is fundamental to achieving our ambitions’Subscription
As deputy chief nurse at Public Health England, Jamie Waterall is passionate about the opportunities for pharmacy in improving the nation’s health.
Toby Anderson: 'There will be fewer pharmacies in fewer locations'Subscription
Toby Anderson, chief executive of McKesson UK, on managing LloydsPharmacy’s parent company during a crucial period for healthcare provision and pharmacy.
Pharmacy teams need protection to keep running during COVID-19
Personal protective equipment is vital in allowing pharmacists to continue their essential work during the pandemic, yet pharmacies have not received enough to continue operating safely.
Pharmacists are on the front line of COVID-19, but they need help too
An urgent package of funding and support is required to enable pharmacists to support vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Help us find the unsung women powering pharmacy forward
There are far too many female pharmacy professionals doing brilliant things that are going unrecognised. Help us change that.
'Pharmacy first' is a big opportunitySubscription
The expansion of Scotland’s minor ailments service is welcome, but pharmacy teams need support to deliver it.
We must not forget transgender patients’ physiology if we are to prescribe safelySubscription
Pharmacists should always be respectful of patients’ identity wishes, but biological differences between the sexes mean that conflating sex and gender could have serious implications for prescribing.
Why we must urgently rethink prescribing short-acting bronchodilators for asthmaSubscription
Guidelines from the Global Initiative for Asthma present a radical overhaul of the way we manage asthma; but our current approach isn’t working, and nothing will change if it is not challenged.
It's time for comprehensive polypharmacy reviews for older people with cancerSubscription
The number of older people with cancer is growing and so is their risk of harmful polypharmacy — care for this expanding group of patients must improve.
We should not write off vitamin D supplementation — especially in pregnancySubscription
Testing all pregnant women for insufficient vitamin D levels is expensive, but two systematic reviews suggest that providing them all with vitamin D supplements could reduce risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and low birth weight.
COVID-19 has put my MPharm on hold, so I'm doing my bit for pharmacy on the frontline
All young, fit and healthy pharmacy students should do anything they can to help their NHS during the coronavirus pandemic, says pharmacy student Jay Patel.
How The Pharmaceutical Journal will support pharmacy teams through the COVID-19 pandemic
As all sectors of pharmacy are being put under immense pressure to maintain patient care, Tony Scully writes to reassure readers that we are doing everything we can to deliver supportive, up-to-date content.
How I landed a coveted internship at a clinical nutrition and biosimilars pharma companySubscription
Pharmacy student Ali Maasoumi Sarvestani refused to let previous rejection stop him from landing a dream summer internship with Fresenius Kabi.
COVID-19: I had to close and disinfect my consultation room after an at-risk patient presented at my pharmacy
Pharmacy owner Lindsey Fairbrother describes how her team coped when a patient who had recently returned from at-risk northern Italy visited her pharmacy.
We need long-term changes to tackle COVID-19 and future pandemics
Open access article
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in compliance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelineSubscription
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a serious adverse effect of cancer therapy. It is observed to different degrees depending on the cytotoxic agent(s) administered. At the American Hospital in Istanbul, the most up-to-date antiemesis guideline by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is followed as there are no alternative local guidelines on CINV
Could chloroquine be effective against COVID-19?
Open access article
Could currently used vaccines protect against COVID-19?Subscription
Data published earlier in 2020 suggest that children are at lower risk of experiencing severe symptoms and mortality from COVID-19, as well as suggesting that risk seems to increase with age[1],
Fun but gimmicky show puts competing health theories to the testSubscription
Although it does not present any revolutionary ideas, The Twinstitute takes a fun look at health fads and alternatives to common medicines.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s health show is a quintessentially ‘LA’ mish-mash of self-indulgenceSubscription
‘The Goop Lab’ offers viewers an insight into controversial and costly alternative wellness therapies — be prepared to take it with a pinch of salt.
Original Victorian pharmacy recreated in full at the Science MuseumSubscription
One of London’s flagship museums invites visitors to Gibson and Son’s, a Victorian chemist’s shop preserved in time.
Useful look at the wider societal effects of the contraceptive pillSubscription
How the Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control by Sarah Hill
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.
