Features
Are patients the missing piece in the drug development puzzle?Subscription
Pharmaceutical companies are beginning to appreciate that involving patients in the drug development life cycle could save them millions of pounds. But are companies being brave enough when it comes to ‘patient centricity’?
Body bionics: how the next generation of biosensors could revolutionise drug deliverySubscription
Smaller, smarter and more sensitive — how four new technologies could change the way drugs are monitored and administered.
Why the 2018 flu season could be a major challenge for pharmacySubscription
Despite the success pharmacy had in 2017 with offering influenza vaccination to people across the UK, winter 2018 is shaping up to be a difficult season, with different vaccines for different groups, staggered deliveries until December and guidance that makes patient prioritisation a problem.
Statins: the highs and the lowsSubscription
Negative press seems to follow statins, the most prescribed drugs in England, despite them revolutionising cardiovascular disease prevention.
Editorial
GPhC registration assessment result gap must be closedSubscription
There is still much work to do to reduce disparities in registration assessment results, but the General Pharmaceutical Council’s efforts should hopefully be a move in the right direction.
Is it time for community pharmacy to let go of dispensing?Subscription
The conversation about whether the days of pharmacists handing out white bags will soon be over was the most polarising debate of the FIP conference.
Q&A
Keith Ridge: 'I regret the pain, but this is a watershed moment for pharmacy'Subscription
England’s chief pharmaceutical officer speaks to Nigel Praities about his plans for the future of pharmacy.
Learning article
Improving and standardising the management of controlled drugsSubscription
Ensuring the safe and effective management of controlled drugs is an important role for pharmacists, particularly in secondary care.
Managing dental emergencies in community pharmacy: soft tissue conditionsSubscription
What advice pharmacists and their teams can give to patients presenting with soft tissue dental conditions in community pharmacy.
Careers
The right ‘fit’: racial bias in pharmacy recruitmentSubscription
Pharmacists provide their thoughts and advice to a colleague concerned about racial discrimination in the workplace.
A day in the life of an ambulance service pharmacistSubscription
Julia Whettam details a typical day as a senior pharmacist at the North West Ambulance Service clinical hub.
Claire Anderson: snorkelling, multitasking and FIPSubscription
A minute in the company of the academic, pharmacy education advocate and chair of the 2018 FIP World Congress host committee.
News
Co-op returns to pharmacy market with purchase of repeat prescription app
The Co-op, which sold off its high street pharmacy business for £620 million in 2014, is returning to the market by buying the repeat prescription smartphone app Dimec.
Pharmacies who delay FMD preparations risk non-compliance, IT suppliers warn
Falsified Medicines Directive suppliers have warned that pharmacies who wait until the last minute to purchase hardware could have to pay more, and may not receive their kit in time to comply with the regulations on implementation day.
Asian and black pharmacists overrepresented in fitness-to-practise concerns, GPhC data show
Asian and black pharmacists are overrepresented in the number of fitness-to-practise concerns raised against them, figures released by the pharmacy regulator show.
Black African pharmacy students still least likely to pass GPhC prereg exam
Black African trainee pharmacists had the lowest pass rates in the General Pharmaceutical Council’s summer preregistration exam.
AMR will be 'central' to NHS 10-year plan, says minister
Antimicrobial resistance will be a central element of the NHS 10-year plan, public health and primary care minister Steve Brine told MPs at a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee hearing on 11 September 2018.
Pharmacy technicians more willing to look for another job than attend fitness to practise hearing, finds PDA report
Almost three-quarters of pharmacy technicians did not attend their fitness to practise hearings, as many believed that they did not have an income, career or status worth protecting, according to a Pharmacists’ Defence Association report.
Consultant pharmacists should be independently credentialed, say proposals
Scottish government announces national minor ailments service for all
PSNC issues advice on how to handle GP criticisms of flu vaccination service
Don’t turn the MPharm into MBA, warns pharmacy schools chair
Pilot areas for STP medicines optimisation revealed
Practice pharmacists lack support from GPs, study finds
NHS campaign aims to encourage patients to check free prescription eligibility
Don't stockpile drugs for Brexit, government tells community pharmacists
Pharmacy bodies lose final legal challenge to fight pharmacy cuts
More safeguards needed to protect patients buying medicines online, say pharmacy bodies
Pharmacists force NHS rethink over cancellation of London-wide minor ailments scheme
Community pharmacy patient safety errors increase by 64%
Prescription app firm opens centre that can dispense 500,000 scripts a month
News in brief
Pharmacy2U to open 7.5m-items-per-month dispensing facility
Online pharmacy Pharmacy2U is to open a new dispensing facility that will enable it to increase its dispensing capacity to 7.5 million items a month, more than 16 times its current capacity.
Number of vapers in Great Britain has quadrupled since 2012
The number of vapers in Great Britain has reached an estimated 3.2 million in 2018, compared with 700,000 in 2012, according to figures from an Action on Smoking and Health survey.
Contaminated valsartan does not increase short-term risk of cancer, study finds
Valsartan contaminated with the impurity N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) does not increase the short-term risk of overall cancer, according to research published in The BMJ.
Front line staff should be vaccinated against flu or face redeployment, say NHS leaders
All front line staff are expected to be vaccinated against flu in 2018, and those who are not should be asked why or even be redeployed to other areas, NHS leaders have said.
Chief pharmaceutical officer expresses 'regret' for painful community pharmacy cuts
Exclusive: NHS England’s chief pharmaceutical officer has expressed his regret for the difficulty cuts to the community pharmacy budget have caused the profession, but insisted they should be regarded as a “watershed” moment for pharmacy.
