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701 Shorter MUR form
will aid communication with GPs Communication
between GPs and pharmacists about medicines use reviews should be improved
following the launch of a new MUR form for use in England. The form has
been reduced to two A4 sheets and only the first overview page of the
form need now be sent to GPs and only when action is required
PJ 2007;279:701
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701 AstraZeneca reveals discounts for
its direct-to-pharmacy scheme Discounts to be offered under AstraZeneca’s
direct-to-pharmacy (DTP) scheme have been announced. Under the scheme,
confirmed by AZ to start on 2 February 2008, a range of products will
be sold with no discount
PJ 2007;279:701
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702 Scottish health action
plan makes use of pharmacy Community pharmacies
will be the location for a new pilot that aims to provide patients in Scotland
with walk-in access to a wide range of health services
PJ 2007;279:702
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702 Consultant grade for hospital pharmacists
in Scotland next year A consultant grade is to
be introduced for hospital pharmacists in Scotland by December 2008, it was announced
this week
PJ 2007;279:702
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702 New drug misuse strategy promised by Scottish
Government A new strategy on drug misuse has been
promised by the Scottish Government following the publication of statistics on
drug misuse this week
PJ 2007;279:702
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702 NHS Scotland is improving NHS Scotland’s performance is improving, according to a report published last week by Audit Scotland. The report examined whether Scotland’s 14 NHS boards and nine special health boards met clinical and financial targets during 2006–07
PJ 2007;279:702
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703 London oral contraception
PGD plans are advanced Plans are already well advanced
to make oral contraception available from community pharmacies under a patient
group direction (PGD) in the Lambeth and Southwark areas of London from April
next year (2008)
PJ 2007;279:703
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703 Over-the-counter ibuprofen/codeine combinations
may be reviewed Rochdale coroner Simon Nelson has called for a debate on the distribution and sale of Nurofen Plus (ibuprofen and codeine) — and similar medicines — following the death of a woman who was addicted to the product for two years
PJ 2007;279:703
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704 Studies support continued
use of trastuzumab Continuing treatment with trastuzumab
(Herceptin) is associated with improved survival in women whose advanced HER2-positive
breast cancer has progressed after initial treatment with the drug, according
to results from two studies reported last week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer
Symposium in Texas
PJ 2007;279:704
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704 Sunitinib-linked cardiotoxicity highlighted Evidence
of sunitinib-associated cardiotoxicity has emerged in a study of 75 patients
with imatinib-resistant metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumours
PJ 2007;279:704
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704 MHRA issues advice on co-proxamol supply
arrangements It will remain legal for pharmacists
to supply co-proxamol that was released into the normal distribution chain before
31 December until the product expiry date has passed, the Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency said earlier this week
PJ 2007;279:704
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704 Long-term data for anastrozole Absolute
risk of breast cancer recurrence continues to decrease with anastrozole compared
with tamoxifen four years after stopping adjuvant treatment, results from 100
months of follow-up in the ATAC trial show
PJ 2007;279:704
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704 Capecitabine in breast cancer Adding
capecitabine to trastuzumab and docetaxel increases the median time to disease
progression by five months in women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer
compared with treatment without capecitabine, according to results from an international
study
PJ 2007;279:704
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704 Colorectal cancer chemotherapy Chemotherapy
with fluorouracil and folinic acid could improve survival of patients with stage
II colorectal cancer compared with observation alone but the absolute benefits
are small, according to a randomised study of 3,239 patients
PJ 2007;279:704
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705 IPM sees Society as foundation
of professional body Support for the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society to be the foundation for a new professional body for pharmacy has been
given by the Institute of Pharmacy Management. The IPM is prepared to consider
merging with, and transferring its funds and income to, a new professional body
PJ 2007;279:705
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705 PDA says supportive professional body needed Pharmacists need a supportive professional body, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association has told the Clarke Inquiry
PJ 2007;279:705
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705 EPS research announced NHS Connecting for Health is to spend £750,000 on a two-year academic study to find out whether the electronic transfer of prescriptions from GPs to pharmacies benefits patients
PJ 2007;279:705
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705 Choosing EPS pharmacies Guidance
on patient nomination of pharmacies for release 2 of the electronic prescription
service has been published by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee
PJ 2007;279:705
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705 PMI business sold Members of the Pharmacy Mutual Insurance Company have voted to sell the company’s business to the National Pharmacy Association
PJ 2007;279:705
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705 New enhanced service templates New
enhanced service specifications for seasonal influenza vaccination and patient
group directions have been agreed by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee and the Department of Health
PJ 2007;279:705
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706 Ranibizumab dose-cap scheme
for AMD patients revealed by NICE Patients losing their sight because of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) could have the cost of treatment with ranibizumab (Lucentis) covered by both the NHS and the drug’s manufacturer, under a dose-capping scheme revealed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence last week. In the second part of its consultation on treatments for wet AMD, NICE has also changed its view on treating patients only when the condition has begun to affect both eyes
PJ 2007;279:706
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706 Updated warnings needed for varenicline Updated warnings are needed to increase prescribers’ awareness of depression in patients taking varenicline (Champix) to help them stop smoking, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) announced last week. The EMEA has received reports of depression occurring in patients taking varenicline, with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among the symptoms of this depression
PJ 2007;279:706
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706 Low-dose tacrolimus regimen shows benefits
in kidney transplant patients Kidney transplant
patients receiving 12 months treatment with a regimen consisting of daclizumab,
mycophenolate mofetil and corticosteroids, in combination with low-dose tacrolimus,
may have a better outcome in terms of renal function, allograft survival and
acute rejection rates, than those treated with regimens containing daclizumab
induction plus low-dose ciclosporin or low-dose sirolimus, or standard dose ciclosporin
without induction, say researchers
PJ 2007;279:706
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706 Three-in-one HIV tablet Fixed-combination
tablets containing efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil have been
launched by Gilead
PJ 2007;279:706
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