News summary
Branch
meetings Future
Events Conferences
PSNC to face challenge over decision to cut
period of treatment fee until April A challenge to the Pharmaceutical
Services Negotiating Committee decision to accept the suspension of the
period of treatment fee for the remainder of the financial year as a
way of avoiding a global sum overpayment is possible...[more]
OFT control of entry report delayed until new
year The long-awaited report from the Office of Fair Trading
on the control of entry into pharmacy contracts has been delayed until
January 2003 at the earliest...[more]
ETP pilots set to continue into 2003 The
electronic transmission of prescriptions pilot schemes are expected to
continue into the new year...[more]
Essential small pharmacy targets The annual target payment for contractors in the Essential Small Pharmacy Scheme has been increased to £41,800, in line with the global sum increase...[more]
Pharmacists should make PCTs aware of what
they can deliver, says minister Community pharmacists should
be pushing on the doors of primary care trusts with their projects for
delivering the Government's health care agenda, according to junior health
minister David Lammy...[more]
Government accepts that vets must give written
prescriptions The Department for the Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs has accepted most of the main conclusions of the independent
Marsh report into dispensing by veterinary surgeons, including that veterinary
prescriptions should be written immediately after a diagnosis has been
made...[more]
LPS contractors are better protected Local
pharmaceutical services contractors can object to new pharmacy contracts.
They can do this in a way that is denied to conventional contractors
faced with competition from LPS applicants...[more]
No free broadband There is to be
no free broadband internet access for pharmacies in the foreseeable future...[more]
Generic prices The Department of
Health's maximum prices scheme for generic medicines is to continue...[more]
Compliance studies needed Researchers
have called for more studies of innovative approaches to help patients
use their medicines...[more]
MRSA deaths increasing Deaths due to methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are increasing, according to the Public Health Laboratory Service...[more]
Leukaemia treatment will be tailored to each
individual's disease status Successful treatment of leukaemia
in the future will involve a combination of interventions tailored to
individuals’ disease status and prognostic markers, specialists
heard at an American Society of Hematology meeting held in Philadelphia
last week...[more]
Imatinib proves effective in chronic phase
of CML More patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic
myeloid leukaemia (CML) respond to treatment with imatinib (Glivec) than
to standard treatment, a new study shows...[more]
Vinorelbine not recommended as first-line treatment
in advanced breast cancer Vinorelbine (Navelbine) should not
be used as first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer, according
to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence...[more]
Anastrozole benefit continues Follow-up
data from the Arimidex, tamoxifen alone or in combination (ATAC) study
show that women treated with anastrozole (Arimidex) are more likely to
be disease-free at four years than women treated with tamoxifen...[more]
Emergency contraception options not always
used Uptake of emergency contraception among young women,
especially those from deprived inner city areas, is influenced by perceptions
of low risk of pregnancy and concerns about what others think, a qualitative
study has shown...[more]
Boots seeks new senior executives The
Boots Co Plc is to change both of its most senior executives next year
with the retirement of its chairman and replacement of its chief executive...[more]
Pharmacy owner challenges three-year rule in
Irish Supreme Court An Irish pharmacy owner is challenging
in the Irish Supreme Court a European rule that prohibits newly qualified
overseas pharmacists from running domestic pharmacies for three years...[more]
EHC for Guernsey Emergency hormonal
contraception in the form of Levonelle-2 (levonorgestrel) is to become
available through pharmacies in the Channel Island of Guernsey...[more]
Counterfeit Dettol Reckitt
Benckiser is alerting retailers about a batch of counterfeit Dettol...[more]
Asda joins CCA Asda Stores is the
latest supermarket pharmacy chain to join the Company Chemists' Association...[more]
Use of echinacea to treat the common cold warrants
further investigation Although it is difficult to ignore the
widespread use and persistent anecdotal reports of the benefits of echinacea,
scientific evidence of its efficacy remains unconvincing. Nevertheless,
the evaluation of echinacea as a treatment option for the common cold
should continue to be investigated, according to Dr Ronald Turner, University
of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville...[more]
Pharmacists could advise patients about depression
more extensively Pharmacists could play a much greater role
as first-line advisers on depression and its treatment, according to
researchers from the department of medicines management at Keele University...[more]
Further evidence on HRT and cardiac risk Hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) does not reduce the overall risk of further
cardiac events in postmenopausal women who have survived a myocardial
infarction, according to the results of a major trial...[more]
DTB celebrates 40th birthday...[more]
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