Features
Dangerous labels: incorrect penicillin allergies fuel antibiotic resistanceSubscription
The vast majority of people with a penicillin allergy label are, in fact, not allergic, leading to significant healthcare implications. Experts say it is now time for a national “de-labelling” drive to help conserve vital antibiotics.
What provisional registration will mean for the pharmacy professionSubscription
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced radical changes to how the 2020 class of preregistration trainees will transition into their careers.
Why we need to talk about sex and clinical trialsSubscription
The under-representation of women in clinical trials is slowly being addressed, but we cannot move towards truly personalised healthcare unless we have an equal balance of the sexes in all new medicine trials.
Blue, brown and now greenSubscription
The ‘NHS long-term plan’ has called for a shift towards inhalers with a lower carbon footprint.
Comment
We risk a cardiovascular health crisis if patients stop seeking help when they need it
Footfall in emergency departments across the world has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts worry that patients with symptoms are staying at home for fear of burdening their healthcare systems. But preventing serious cardiovascular events is still as important as ever, says cardiology consultant pharmacist Rani Khatib.
Q&A
Jo Churchill: 'I'm having forceful conversations about new funding for pharmacy'
The pharmacy minister on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health support for pharmacists and what may be the enduring legacy for the sector.
CPD article
Insomnia disorder: diagnosis and preventionSubscription
Insomnia can have a profound impact on a patient; understanding its causes and how it can be prevented can have significant implications on their wellbeing.
Learning article
How to provide advice on alcohol consumption and explain the potential health risksSubscription
Alcohol consumption has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacists can provide patients with support and information to enable them to make informed choices about their intake.
Organ donation law and transplantation management in the UKSubscription
Pharmacists should be aware that the law around organ donation changed in England in May 2020 and will change in Scotland from March 2021, and should understand the implications this has on practice and for patients.
Research
Investigational treatments for COVID-19
A review of several of the treatments for COVID-19 currently being trialled.
Careers
Training during a pandemic: tips for new preregistration trainees
Pharmacy professionals share their advice with the new cohort of preregistration pharmacists about to start their training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘We are at the forefront of COVID-19 research’ — a day in the life of a clinical trials pharmacist
With COVID-19 becoming the number one priority for researchers around the globe, Parham Hashemi describes his role in overseeing the new trials being launched during the pandemic.
Editorial
We need a national de-labelling drive for patients with penicillin allergySubscription
False penicillin allergies are placing patients at risk of resistant infections and are a threat to antimicrobial stewardship; we must safely de-label patients to avoid these costs to public health.
It should not have taken another pandemic to highlight BAME health inequalities
The high proportion of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups dying from COVID-19 has brought health inequalities between ethnic groups to the fore, but this should have been looked into long before the pandemic began.
News
Pharmacist-led medicines optimisation may reduce readmissions to hospital, study findsSubscription
Attending a pharmacist-led medicines optimisation clinic after hospital discharge could help to reduce patient readmissions, visits to A&E and unplanned GP consultations, a study published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy has found.
Dexamethasone is ‘first drug’ to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19
Low-dose dexamethasone, a “widely available, safe and well-known drug”, is the first medicine to be shown to result in a “significant reduction in mortality” in those with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilation, researchers have said.
Pharmacy degree apprenticeships put on hold by COVID-19
Development of a pharmacy degree apprenticeship has been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the body responsible for building healthcare workforce capacity has said.
Government SAGE committee suggests flu vaccinations for 'entire UK population'
The government’s scientific panel set up to advise on the COVID-19 pandemic has recommended the government considers vaccinating “the entire UK population” against flu during the 2020/2021 season.
Digital hospital-to-pharmacy referral service launch delayed by COVID-19
Plans for hospitals to digitally refer discharged patients to community pharmacies across England have been put on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pharmacist dies from COVID-19, bringing total number of confirmed pharmacy staff deaths to five
Navin Shantilal Talati, a pharmacist and founder of Talati Chemist in Dagenham, has died from COVID-19, The Pharmaceutical Journal has learned.
NHS Pharmacy First service launch rescheduled for end of July 2020
Video consultations will be available to all Scottish community pharmacies by the middle of June 2020Subscription
Net pharmacy closures double in first five months of 2020 compared with previous yearSubscription
The importance of good mentoring, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond
COVID-19 infection control could cut community pharmacy capacity for flu vaccinations by two-thirds
Doubling of penicillin allergy reports may put a million hospital patients at greater risk each yearSubscription
Items dispensed from electronic prescriptions increase by 22% in March 2020Subscription
Pharmacy leaders concerned over lack of widespread COVID-19 risk assessment for BAME staff
Community pharmacies to receive an additional £50m loan to mitigate COVID-19 pressuresSubscription
PrEP to be phased into routine commissioning during 2020/2021Subscription
All provisionally registered trainees must be risk-assessed before starting work, regulator says
Pharmacies selected as a ‘target setting’ for COVID-19 antibody testing
Almost a third of temporary pharmacy registrants intend to return to work, regulator finds
Research briefing
SGLT2 inhibitors linked to reduced risk of serious renal eventsSubscription
No significant efficacy difference between courses of remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19
Corticosteroids should be used with caution in patients with COVID-19, researchers say
Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors not linked to COVID-19 severity, researchers conclude
Daily multidisciplinary team meetings could cut COPD hospital staysSubscription
Correspondence
How collaboration was key at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the HumberSubscription
BAME patients less likely to take up community pharmacy services in North West LondonSubscription
How we have facilitated workplace-based assessments amid social distancing measuresSubscription
Why community pharmacy should receive the hospital discharge letterSubscription
