News summary
News in brief
Infection control agency announced by England's chief medical officer
The Government is to set up a National Infection Control and
Health Protection Agency (NICHPA) as part of its first infectious diseases
strategy...[more]
Hospital discounts not against competition law
but Napp still fined Giving greater discounts to hospital
pharmacies than community pharmacies is not, in itself, a breach of the
Competition Act 1998, but Napp Pharmaceuticals used such discounts to
exclude competititors and protect profits in the community, the Competition
Commission Appeals Tribunal has ruled...[more]
MeReC Bulletin tackles management of osteoporosis
The latest issue of the MeReC Bulletin considers issues
surrounding the management of osteoporosis, including the treatment of
men with osteoporosis and the treatment of corticosteroid-induced osteoarthritis...[more]
PGDs to be extended beyond the NHS Patient
group directions, which are currently restricted to health professionals
working in the National Health Service, are to be extended to private,
charitable and voluntary sector hospitals and to prisons, police custody
suites and the defence medical services. Care homes are excluded from
the proposed extension...[more]
Successful hospitals and trusts will be given
greater freedom Successful hospitals and primary care trusts
could be run on a "foundation" basis with less strict financial and managerial
control from Whitehall, according to the Secretary of State for Health,
Alan Milburn...[more]
New CD regulations from 1 February Regulations
governing the supply of Controlled Drugs in Great Britain introduced in
1985 and their subsequent amendments have been consolidated into the Misuse
of Drugs Regulations 2001, which come into effect on 1 February...[more]
Nurse prescribing formulary extended Nurse
prescribers are to be able to prescribe a wider range of medicines, including
many prescription medicines, on the National Health Service from April...[more]
Call for new pertussis strategy A
review of national pertussis vaccination policies has been called for
by the International Consensus Group on Pertussis Immunisation...[more]
Raloxifene benefits those at risk of breast cancer
Treating women at high risk of breast cancer with raloxifene
could substantially reduce the rate of breast cancer among postmenopausal
women, say researchers...[more]
Drug bulletins accuse industry of failing to
come up with advances The International Society of Drug Bulletins
has criticised the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory authorities
this week, accusing them of "blurring the distinction between genuine
therapeutic advance and mere innovation"....[more]
Herbal extract as good as cetirizine for hay
fever The herbal extract, butterbur, is as effective as cetirizine
for treating seasonal allergic rhinitis, and does not have the sedative
effects sometimes associated with antihistamines, a new study shows...[more]
Health Committee starts NICE review The
House of Commons Select Committee on Health has started its investigation
into the National Institute for Clinical Excellence...[more]
Renal national service framework planned for
Wales Plans have been announced to begin developing a National
Service Framework for patients with end stage kidney failure in Wales...[more]
Smaller multiples launch two lobbying groups
The interests of smaller independent multiple groups of pharmacies
are to be represented by two new lobbying bodies...[more]
New CRC standard A new British Standard
specifying requirements and testing procedures for non-reclosable child-resistant
packages for pharmaceutical products was published on 21 December 2001...[more]
Scottish pricing problems queried Problems
with pricing prescriptions by the practitioner services division (PSD)
of the Scottish Common Services Agency have been raised in a report by
Audit Scotland presented to the Scottish Parliament...[more]
Studies compare benefits of lung cancer regimens
Two studies published this week compare the benefits of combination
chemotherapy regimens for treating small-cell lung cancer and non-small-cell
lung cancer...[more]
NHS modernisation board says change will be hard
work The National Health Service modernisation board has warned
that changing the NHS in England into an organisation that meets the need
for prompt and high quality health care will be hard work...[more]
From Care Award to part of practice and the NSF
Applications are now being invited for the 10th anniversary
Pharmaceutical Care Awards (see entry form opposite). The Journal has
spoken to some of the previous winners to see what difference winning
the award has made to their work...[more]
NEWS IN BRIEF
ME officially recognised
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis
(ME), should be recognised as a chronic illness, according to a Government
working group set up to review the management of the condition. In its
report, published on 11 January, the working group concludes that clinicians
should help those affected by CFS/ME to cope with the uncertainty surrounding
the illness. The group suggests several therapeutic strategies for the
management of the illness, including graded exercise programmes. No specific
drug treatment for managing CFS/ME was identified.
HIV ADR Reporting Scheme News
The latest bulletin of the HIV ADR Reporting Scheme News has been published.
The bulletin reviews drug safety issues for medicines used in patients
infected with HIV. It is produced by the Medicines Control Agency, the
Medical Research Council HIV Clinical Trials Centre and the Committee
on Safety of Medicines. All issues can be found on the MCA website (www.mca.gov.uk).
Loratadine could reduce asthma induced
by exercise The antihistamine
loratadine reduces exercise-induced asthma, a new study shows. Researchers
assigned 11 children with a history of exercise-induced asthma to receive
loratadine 10mg or placebo once daily for three days immediately before
being tested for exercise-induced asthma. They found that loratadine reduced
the fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after exercise
compared with that for placebo (P<0.05) (Archives of Disease
in Childhood 2001; 86:38).
|
