News summary
News
in brief
PSNC threatens judicial review of 2001–02 remuneration imposition
A judicial review of the Government’s decision to impose
a remuneration settlement for 2001-02 will be sought by the Pharmaceutical
Services Negotiating Committee if the imposition is not reconsidered
...[more]
Travellers at DVT risk to seek pharmacists’ advice
Advice on travel-related deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been
issued by the Department of Health this week...[more]
Europe’s medicines directives simplified Eleven
European directives on medicines have been consolidated into a single
new directive...[more]
Gluten-free food scheme delayed The
Department of Health has postponed the introduction of a scheme intended
to allow patients with coeliac disease to obtain gluten-free foods from
pharmacies without a prescription following concerns raised about the
scheme and its costs...[more]
Medication reviews by pharmacists are better
than those done by GPs Medication reviews conducted by primary
care pharmacists result in reduced prescribing costs and higher review
rates than reviews by general practitioners, a new study has shown...[more]
Government should take the lead on DTC, says
Parliamentary group The Department of Health should take the
lead in starting discussions about how direct-to-consumer advertising
(DTC) might work in the United Kingdom, according to a report by the All-Party
Pharmacy Group (APPG)....[more]
New appointments to CSM and Medicines Commission
Professor Peter Noyce, FRPharmS, professor of pharmacy practice
at Manchester University, has been appointed to the Medicines Commission
for a four-year term...[more]
Wellcome Trust sells £1.8bn GSK stake The
Wellcome Trust has sold 100 million shares in GlaxoSmithKline raising
£1.8bn...[more]
NICE’s advice to be made compulsory Health
authorities and primary care trusts in England are to be required to fund
all treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence...[more]
Independent review of NICE sought The
Consumers’ Association wants an independent review of the National Institute
for Clinical Excellence and greater involvement of patients in its work...[more]
NICE to appraise drugs before launch The
National Institute for Clinical Excellence intends to start its technology
appraisals before new medicines are marketed, Professor Sir Michael Rawlins,
chairman of NICE, said at its conference in London on 5 December...[more]
Health authorities not monitoring compliance
with NICE guidance Less than half the health authorities in
England and Wales have a policy for monitoring local compliance with guidance
issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, according to
a survey conducted by the charity CancerBACUP...[more]
Falls in antibiotic prescribing linked to pneumonia
deaths Falls in antibiotic prescribing might be linked to increases
in deaths caused by pneumonia, say researchers...[more]
Europe writes antibiotic guidelines Formal
guidelines on the prudent use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents
in human medicine have been adopted by the European Union’s Council of
Ministers...[more]
More research on the occurrence of herb-drug
interactions is needed Herb-drug interactions occur but are
under-researched, a review of reported interactions shows...[more]
NPA opposes relaxation of rules on supervision
of dispensing Any relaxation of the current interpretation
of legal requirements for the supervision of dispensing as set out in
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Code of Ethics and Professional Standards
will be opposed by the National Pharmaceutical Association...[more]
Consumers excluded from Irish review of pharmacy
regulation A review body set up to examine the regulation of
pharmacies in the Irish Republic has run into controversy over the exclusion
of consumer representatives...[more]
NHS draws up specification for electronic prescribing
systems in hospitals A basic specification for electronic prescribing
systems to be used by National Health Service trusts has been produced
by Liverpool Health Authority’s pharmacy practice unit...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
HTBS guidance on sibutramine The Health
Technology Board for Scotland said that guidance on the use of sibutramine
(Reductil) for the treatment of obesity issued by the National Institute
for Clinical Excellence in October (see PJ, 20 October, p541) is as valid
in Scotland as it is in England and Wales. The NICE guidance restricts
the use of sibutramine to adult patients with a body mass index of 27kg/m2
and significant co-morbidities or a body mass index of 30kg/m2
without co-morbidities. Its use should be part of an overall plan for
the management of obesity.
ESPS update The annual target payment for the 287 contractors in the Essential Small Pharmacies Scheme has been increased in line with the global sum to £40,350 for 2001–02. The ESPS threshold for 2001–02 is 23,040 prescriptions with a maximum monthly ESPS payment in of £2,900. In order to make a back payment from April 2001, the maximum monthly payment will be increased to £3,870 for December only.
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