The Pharmaceutical Journal
July 15, 2000

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Comment

An Onlooker's Notebook   76

• Back to St Helena
• Dangerous dioxins
• Body and spirit
• Vital need

Leading Article   77

• Innovations in Birmingham

News   78-81

• Chief pharmacists endorse new medicines information strategy 78
• NAWP goes on-line 78
• BPAS opposes intrusive questioning over emergency contraception 78
• Pharmacy Interact reaches 30,000 78
• Generic price cuts go ahead 79
• Ministerial constituency visit 79
• More medicines proposed for use by paramedics 79
• Ethical dilemmas a constant in pharmacy 79
• Government seeks balance on pharmaceuticals on the internet 80
• All-Party Group summer reception 80
• MCA considers cannabis trial licence 80
• Alleged steroid cream fraud moves to Ireland 80
• Pharmacy antiques fetch £53,000 81
• Locum organisation to go ahead 81
• Welsh Assembly seeks pharmacy head 81
• More POM-to-P proposals 81
• Welsh school hosts world's first polymer imprinting workshop 81

Clinical Pharmacy   82-84

• NICE suggests 15 per cent of PPI use could be stopped 82
• Approval announced for new PPI 82
• Beta-interferon cost-effective? 83
• Sleep disorders and cluster headaches 83
• Ear better than thumb for tests? 83
• Prophylaxis submission for Relenza withdrawn 83
• Top spot for Lipitor 83
• The global AIDS epidemic 84

Business   85

• Unichem opens new office 85
• Moss tops 700 85
• PCG Ltd raises £1m 85
• AAH makes Aston donation 85
• Zest seeks "pharmacy of the year" 85
• Award for Unipharma 85
• Novartis to reorganise pharmaceuticals division 85

The Society   86-88

• Facing the future: Pharmacy and the national plan for the NHS (C. Glover) 86
• Society makes awards totalling £72,000 to support PDGs 87
• Society seeks members' views on regulation of support staff 88
• PJ Online update 88
• Obituaries 88

Letters to the Editor   89-90

• Remuneration - Continuous losses 89
• Prescription pricing - Go private 89
• Emergency contraception - Conundrum concern 89
• Council election - Back to Cromwell 90
• Breeding
  • Answering critics 90
  • Poisonous twaddle 90

Continuing education   91-96

• Childhood diseases: (2) Infections (R. Scott-Jupp) 91-96

Original papers   97-99

• Hospital pharmacist prescribing: a pilot study (S. Woolfrey et al) 97-99

Forum   100-104

• European League Against Rheumatism
  • Rheumatoid arthritis - an infection? 100
  • New anti-TNF drug may offer additional benefits, according to manufacturer 100
  • Update on the coxibs 101
  • Future therapeutic targets 101
  • New OA recommendations 102
  • Role of chondroitin in osteoarthritis 102
  • Advances in stem cell therapy 102
  • Hyaluronic acid for osteoarthritis 102
• College of Pharmacy Practice 103-104

The Conference   105-110

• Looking to the future in practice and science 105
• Practice and profession 106
• Pharmaceutical sciences 107
• Conference essentials 107
• Conference programme 108-110

Products   111

• Oxis Turbohaler 111
• Curatoderm ointment 111
• Ditropan XL tablets 111
• Flixotide Evohaler 50µg 111
• Demser tablets 111
• Calcichew Forte 111
• Discontinued 111
• Recall - Madopar 125mg capsules 111
• Dioralyte tablets 111
• Femease pads 111
• Health information books 111
• Haematology website 111
• Price changes 111

Notice-Board   112

• Official notices 112
• About people 112
• Future events 112
• Awards 112
• Appointments 112
• Announcements 112
• Wants list 112
• Corrections 112

Front Cover Picture

Our front cover photograph is of Birmingham's International Convention Centre, venue for the British Pharmaceutical Conference later this year. Conference details and a programme appear on pp105-110.

Medicines information

To reflect its increased scope, "drug information" is now to be known as "the NHS medicines information service" (p78).

Proton pump inhibitor prescribing

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is recommending that all doctors review their use of proton pump inhibitors and reduce the dose or even stop the medicine, where appropriate (p82).

Childhood diseases

Our continuing education series on childhood diseases continues with an article on infections (p91).

Hospital pharmacist prescribing

Results of a pilot study published this week (p97) suggest that hospital pharmacist prescribing improves patient care and makes better use of pharmacists' clinical skills.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Highlights of the recent congress of the European League Against Rheumatism are reported on pp100-102.