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Skill mix report proposes relaxation of supervision
in community pharmacies The Department of Health's long awaited
report on skill mix has reopened the debate on supervision in community
pharmacies...[more]
Primary care CHD collaborative programme has
saved 800 lives Over 800 lives have been saved as a result
of improvements made in coronary heart disease (CHD) care through the
National Health Service's National Primary Care Collaborative (NPCC) programme...[more]
Minister agrees pharmacists are not shopkeepers
Pharmacists are clinicians, not shopkeepers, according to Alan Milburn,
Secretary of State for Health...[more]
Pharmacists in Aberdeen to immunise patients
against influenza under PGD Aberdonians who are officially
classified as at risk of catching influenza will be able to be vaccinated
against the disease this year at Michie's Pharmacy in Union Street...[more]
ASDA to sell 'flu vaccinations in stores nation-wide
The ASDA supermarket chain is to sell influenza vaccinations to customers
on request at all its 256 stores on October 12...[more]
More TB vaccine available soon New
stocks of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine are currently undergoing testing before
they are released for use, the Department of Health has confirmed...[more]
Toolkit for elderly care A toolkit
to support implementation of the National Service Framework for Older
People was published by the Department of Health this week...[more]
Scottish investigators say many exemptions falsified
Community pharmacists, general practitioners, dentists and opticians in
Scotland may be falsifying a third of the prescription and treatment charge
exemption checks they are supposed to carry out...[more]
Regulatory bodies warn of risks of free movement
of staff Attention has been drawn to a European proposal that
health care regulators believe threatens public safety...[more]
Mixed results for pharmaceutical care approach
to the treatment of asthma Pharmaceutical care provided by
community pharmacists to patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease results in only slight improvements in lung function, an American
study has revealed...[more]
MMR uptake shows small recovery Uptake
of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine rose half a percentage point
over the summer, according to the latest figures from the Public Health
Laboratory Service...[more]
Corticosteroids cut asthma admissions
Regular use of low-dose inhaled corticosteroids can prevent almost a third
of asthma hospital admissions over the long term, according to Canadian
researchers...[more]
UK medicines bill has fallen in relation to
total NHS spend, says new report Although the United Kingdom
medicines bill is still rising, it has fallen as a proportion of total
National Health Service expenditure, according to the latest figures from
the Office of Health Economics...[more]
Adequate asthma control not achieved in half
of children Half of children suffering from asthma do not achieve
satisfactory symptom control, results of a Swiss study suggest...[more]
Self-management plans for asthma can reduce
the rate of hospital readmission Patients given a self-management
plan when they are admitted to hospital with acute asthma are less likely
to be readmitted than those who are not, a new study suggests...[more]
Materia medica donated to Kew A box
containing hundreds of dried plant samples used in the 1920s to teach
pharmacists and doctors how to prepare herbal remedies has been donated
to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London...[more]
Phase I trial shows oral estriol may offer hope
to women with multiple sclerosis A drug currently used as hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) could improve outcomes in women with relapsing-remitting
multiple sclerosis (MS), the results of a phase I clinical trial suggest...[more]
Progressive MS can benefit from beta interferon
treatment Patients with primary and transitional progressive
multiple sclerosis (MS), in addition to those with the relapsing-remitting
form of the disease, could benefit from beta-interferon, Spanish researchers
say...[more]
Frequent use of spermicide could increase risk
of HIV in prostitutes An over-the-counter spermicidal gel,
previously suggested as a preventive agent against HIV, has been shown
to increase the risk of infection in a randomised trial...[more]
Antibiotic helps cystic fibrosis patients
Azithromycin (Zithromax) could be of some benefit to people with cystic
fibrosis (CF) who do not respond to conventional treatment, British researchers
suggest...[more]
Companies rebuked for misleading pharmacists
Two pharmaceutical companies have been reprimanded for trying to mislead
pharmacists about the extent of their involvement in primary care activities...[more]
Salford PCT seeks pharmacist for development
post Salford Primary Care Trust, one of the first teaching
PCTs to be established in England, is looking to recruit a PCT training
and practice development prescribing adviser in conjunction with the National
Prescribing Centre...[more]
Destruction of Controlled Drugs Guidance
on witnessing the destruction of Controlled Drugs by primary care trust
pharmacists can be found ...[more]
Research and Development
New drug provides relief for patients with benign
prostatic hyperplasia Dutasteride, a 5a-reductase inhibitor,
reduces enlargement of the transitional zone of the prostate in patients
with benign prostatic hyperplasia as early as one month into treatment,
new data show...[more]
Antibiotic shows promise for treatment of chronic
bronchitis Moxifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, achieves higher
cure rates than amoxicillin, clarithromycin and cefuroxime when used for
the treatment of chronic bronchitis, researchers report...[more]
Synthetic molecule has potential to enhance
radiation therapy A synthetic molecule, efaproxiral (RSR13),
that enhances the diffusion of oxygen to oxygen-deprived tumour tissue
shows promise in improving survival time in patients with locally advanced,
unresectable, stage IIIA/IIIB non-small cell lung cancer...[more]
Tattoo may be used to monitor glucose
A tattoo that could be used to monitor glucose levels in patients with
diabetes is being developed by researchers in the United States...[more]
New smallpox vaccine promising A
smallpox vaccine in development, ACAM1000, provides protective immunogenicity
within 10 days of vaccination, phase I trial results show...[more]
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