Hospital Pharmacist
2007;14:77-78
March 2007

77 Mixed responses to splitting Royal Pharmaceutical Society News that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is to lose its regulatory function and that a royal-college type body is to be formed to take on the leadership of the profession has been greeted with mixed responses
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:77
Full Text


78 Trusts should use more than one method to detect adverse events Trusts should introduce more than one method of adverse event detection. This is the conclusion of a recent report
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:78
Full Text

78 Doctors need training in drug dose calculations Training given during medical school to perform drug dose calculations should be reinforced during doctors' first year of practice, according to a report
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:78
Full Text

78 Value-based prices for drugs needed, says OFT Prices paid for branded drugs should reflect the therapeutic value that they bring to patients, according to a recent report from the Office of Fair Trading
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:78
Full Text

78 Discharge drug lists are inaccurate, study says Discharge medication lists often contain inaccuracies, according to recent research
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:78
Full Text

77 NEWS IN BRIEF
Hospital Pharmacist 2007;14:77

Guidance supporting the use of barcoding and other auto-identification techniques has been published by the Department of Health. One of the recommendations is that both the NHS and pharmaceutical industry adopt the “GS1” system of coding standards.

The 2007 edition of “Rules and Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Distributors” (the “Orange Guide”) was published last month by The Pharmaceutical Press. Updates include details of the revised code for Qualified Persons.

Last month saw the publication of the electronic prescribing functional specification (version 1.0) for systems to be used within hospitals in England (PDF 500K)

New advice on improving the care received by people with both a mental health and a substance misuse problem has been published by the Department of Health.

The Scottish Executive Health Department have issued guidance on managing Controlled Drugs, which specifies how NHS Scotland will respond to the requirements of the Health Act 2006 and subsequent Controlled Drugs regulations.

In its response to the Shipman Inquiry’s fifth report, the Government recommends that health care organisations should maintain files on the quality of care provided by all professional employees (PDF 880K).