259 Hospital
pharmacists lead the way in Care Awards An integrated
medicines management service piloted at three hospitals in Northern
Ireland has won one of the Pharmaceutical Care Awards sponsored
by GlaxoSmithKline for 2003 for Anita Hogg and colleagues more
259 Electronic
prescribing moves forward Electronic prescribing
in hospitals in England is likely to start in 2006, two
years earlier than previously planned. The Department of
Health has announced that it is working with the local
service providers of the National Programme for Information
Technology to move forward the drug prescribing element more
259 Guild
speaks out against Society’s election Managed-sector pharmacists
are under-represented on the new Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, according to the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists more
260 First
technician of the year clinical award announced A pharmacy
translating service set up by Nirmala Soma, community services co-ordinator,
Glenfields Hospital, Leicester, was the first ever winner of the AAH
hospital pharmacy technician of the year clinical award. Interviewing
patients of Asian ethnicity in the hospital found that 58 per cent
would benefit from an interpreter more
260 New
members of Hospital Pharmacists Group Two new committee
members have been co-opted to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Hospital
Pharmacists Group more
263 Changes
to the way generic products are to be procured spark controversy Many
of the main stakeholders involved in the procurement of generic drugs
have misgivings about the new purchasing arrangements that are in the
process of being brought in by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency
(PaSA) more
263 NICE
work announced Guidelines on managing osteoarthritis, drug
abuse, faecal incontinence and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
are to be produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
as part of their “10th wave” more
263 Credit
for learning series The current series of credit for learning,
the continuing education programme of Hospital Pharmacist,
has now finished more
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259 NEWS
IN BRIEF
Are you an innovative pharmacist working within the pharmaceutical supply
chain? If so, you are invited to apply for the 2004 Guild of Healthcare
Pharmacists’ “Innovation in pharmacologistics award”,
sponsored by Pfizer. The closing date for entries is 24 September and
further information is available by e-mailing howard.tebby@pfizer.com.
Responsibility for NHS workforce issues will pass to a newly-created “NHS
Employers Organisation” on 1 October. The organisation is to
be run by the NHS
Confederation and is to support the delivery and implementation
of “Agenda for change”.
“Putting
people at the heart of public health” is the theme of
the Government’s NHS Improvement Plan launched in June. Pledges
include issues affecting pharmacy in the community, such as continuing
to ease the bureaucracy surrounding repeat prescriptions.
Care needs to be taken when prescribing or dispensing mercaptamine
(the new name for cysteamine) and mercaptopurine. A Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency bulletin confirms that reports
of confusion have been received following the change from British
Approved Names to International Non-proprietary Names, between
the two drugs. Further information is available from www.mhra.gov.uk
“Moving up the Agenda” is the title of this years Hospital
Pharmacist conference, to take place on the 11 November at the Royal
Phrmaceutical Society’s headquarters in London. Further information here
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Hospital Pharmacist