News summary
Loss of control of entry could
act as catalyst to drive up quality of services The loss of
control of entry would trigger a fundamental change in how the National
Health Service responds to community pharmacy and could act as a catalyst
to drive up quality, according to Sue Sharpe, chief executive officer,
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee...[more]
Remuneration cannot be linked to professional
decision making Remuneration of pharmacy services needs to
be addressed if the provision of services by pharmacists continues to
expand, according to Trevor Jones, director general, Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry...[more]
Napp cuts MST prices by 15 pc NAPP
Pharmaceuticals has cut the price of its MST Continus (morphine sulphate)
controlled release tablets in the community by 15 per cent with effect
from 20 May 2002...[more]
Vice-President sells to Moss The Royal
Pharmaceutical Society's Vice-President, Dr Gillian Hawksworth, has sold
her pharmacy at Mirfield, West Yorkshire, to Moss Pharmacy...[more]
Tamoxifen is treatment of choice for preventing
breast cancer recurrence TAMOXIFEN should remain the therapy
of choice for preventing the recurrence of breast cancer after surgery,
an expert panel said this week...[more]
Taxanes of benefit in breast cancer Replacing
5-fluorouracil with doce-taxel (Taxotere) in adjuvant combination chemotherapy
improves survival and reduces breast cancer recurrence...[more]
Trial results suggest women respond better to
letrozole Differences are beginning to emerge between the aromatase
inhibitors — the new class of drugs used to treat breast cancer...[more]
Call to shake-up policy on illegal drugs The
Government's policy on illegal drugs should concentrate on harm reduction
rather than criminal sanctions, a House of Commons Home Affairs Committee
report has concluded this week...[more]
Draft Bill for Welsh NHS published The
draft Bill sets out proposals to give patients
more of a say in the running of the NHS and to provide information that
will further protect and improve public health in Wales...[more]
Scottish prescribing pilot extended More
pharmacists in Scotland will be able to prescribe medicines for minor
ailments following a further extension of a pilot project...[more]
Welsh issue most prescriptions but also the cheapest
Prescribers in Wales issue the greatest number of prescriptions
per head in the four home countries but the net ingredient cost per item
is the lowest, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics...[more]
Imatinib should be considered for new chronic
myeloid leukaemia patients IMATINIB (Glivec) is better than
current standard therapy as first-line treatment in chronic myeloid leukaemia
(CML), according to trial data announced this week at the American Society
of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, Florida...[more]
NICE to look at evidence for using cannabis for
multiple sclerosis The National Institute for Clinical Excellence
has been asked to examine the evidence for using cannabis derivatives
for treating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis...[more]
Launch of new bisphosphonate A new
bisphosphonate, ibandronic acid (Bondronat), has been launched this week
by Roche...[more]
ABPI wants more independence in NICE appeals
process The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
has called for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence appeals
process to be made more independent...[more]
Doctors will need licences to practise
Doctors will need to have licences to practise medicine, renewable every
five years, under plans for reforming the General Medical Council, published
this week by the GMC and the Department of Health...[more]
PAGB director donates £5,000 to support
model pharmacy project The Young Pharmacists Group has received
a personal donation of £5,000 from Sheila Kelly, executive director,
Proprietary Association of Great Britain, for its model pharmacy project...[more]
Scottish cancer patients hold palliative care
notes Cancer patients being treated at the Prince and Princess
of Wales Hospice, Glasgow, are being given their own palliative care notes
to show to other health care professionals from whom they seek treatment...[more]
Delay child cough re-referrals, say GPs Parents
of children with acute cough should be advised that symptoms can take
longer than expected to clear...[more]
Inhaled steroids switch can destabilise asthma
Switching patients with stable persistent asthma from their
inhaled corticosteroid to a long acting beta2 agonist may not
reduce their peak flow but it could destabilise their asthma and increase
their risk of exacerbations, Professor Paul O'Byrne from McMaster University,
Ontario, Canada, warned delegates at the American Thoracic Society meeting
in Atlanta, this week...[more]
Parents forget to give preventer medication to
child asthmatics Parents who fail to give their asthmatic children
preventer medication on time or at the right dose may be forgetful or
find it hard to fit treatment into busy lives, rather than be avoiding
treatment because of "steroid phobia"...[more]
White wine boosts lung function A
daily glass of white wine boosts lung function by about 1.5 per cent,
according to Dr Holger Schunemann, University of Buffalo, United States...[more]
Negative thoughts bad for lungs Negative
thinking can diminish a man's lung function, say Harvard researchers...[more]
Call for children’s leaflet for unlicensed medicines
A standard leaflet explaining the issues surrounding
medicines for children should be made available for pharmacists to include
with children's medicines, the Standing Medical Advisory Committee (SMAC)
has recommended...[more]
Sudden epilepsy deaths avoidable Many cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
are potentially avoidable and are due, in some cases, to inadequate drug
management, an audit has shown...[more]
Scottish Conservatives told of pharmacists' work Participants in the Scottish
Conservative and Unionist Party conference, held in Perth last week, were
told about pharmacists' work by representatives of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society in Scotland and the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council...[more]
MeReC medicines management The latest
issue of the MeReC Bulletin (Vol 12, No 6) discusses the importance
of medicines management and medicines management services...[more]
HTBS endorses arthritis drugs The
Health Technology Board for Scotland has advised the National Health Service
in Scotland that infliximab (Remicade) and etanercept (Enbrel) be used
for patients with active rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded to
conventional treatments...[more]
Switch to tetanus/diphtheria vaccine Single
antigen tetanus vaccine is being replaced by the combined tetanus/low
dose diphtheria vaccine for adults and adolescents, the Department of
Health says...[more]
Boehringer celebrates its 40th anniversary in
UK The Duke of York, special representative for international
trade and investment, was guest of honour at a ceremony in Bracknell,
Berkshire, last week to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment
of Boehringer Ingelheim's subsidiary in the United Kingdom...[more]
GSL status sought for Nizoral and Regaine products
Applications have been made to the Medicines Control Agency
for the reclassification of Nizoral (ketoconazole) shampoo and Regaine
(minoxidil) regular strength solution as general sale list medicines...[more]
Nucare offers share incentive discount Nucare
has launched a share incentive scheme for its retail members. The scheme
is to start on 1 June and will allow members to earn points, which they
can then use to purchase Nucare shares at a 50 per cent discount...[more]
Pharmaceuticals and genes are part of the Chelsea
Flower Show The Chelsea Flower Show is now, apparently, the
top event in the United Kingdom's social calendar...[more]
Senior pharmacist for safe practices post at
National Patient Safety Agency The appointment of a senior
pharmacist to the National Patient Safety Agency was announced this week...[more]
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