Another Barnes article opposing pharmacist ownership of pharmacies : 07/06/2011 :

Terry Barnes was a senior adviser to Howard government health ministers Michael Wooldridge and Tony Abbott, and as a public servant had senior roles including being the principal drafter of the 1999 report of the National Competition Policy Review of Pharmacy Regulation (ownership). 

He's written a number of articles in recent times (including this one for AusPharm) highly critical of what he describes as the 'blatantly anti-competitive' ownership provisions and location rules of the Community Pharmacy Agreements. His latest missive was published yesterday in this week's eMJA.

Read it here. ([Free] registration required.)

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(Very) che*p Pfi*er generics : 07/06/2011 :

AusPharm's mail is that these prices will be ongoing with no minimum orders.

At these prices how many pharmacists will have the strength of their convictions to not support Pfizer?

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Priceline asthma consultation program a hit : 07/06/2011 :

More than 1,000 asthma sufferers from across Australia visited a Priceline Pharmacy in the first week of its asthma consultations program which launched last month.

The asthma consultation program is being run with the support of Asthma Australia and is part of Priceline’s ‘Live Well’ initiative, an ongoing program of  health consultations for new and existing customers, each of which focuses on specific health issues such as asthma management.

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First 15 Medicare Locals announced : 07/06/2011 :

Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon yesterday announced the organisations that will become the nation’s first Medicare Locals from 1 July 2011.

15 were announced yesterday with another 4 in Victoria to be announced within the next week following a request from Victoria to have more time to consider the Victorian boundaries.

All successful applicatants were chosen from high performing Divisions of General Practice, many working in consortia with other organisations, with established records in improving primary health care for their local community, and strong plans to improve local primary care services into the future.

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GSK discloses payments to Australian healthcare professionals : 06/06/2011 :

GlaxoSmithKline Australia today disclosed the aggregate amount of fees paid to Australian healthcare professionals and health-related organisations for all sponsorships, grants, speaking engagements and consulting services during the calendar year of 2010.

The total amount was $2,047,728 and covers all parts of the GSK business in Australia.

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SHPA revises clinical pharmacy staffing levels : 06/06/2011 :

SHPA has updated its Standards of Practice for Clinical Pharmacy1 to incorporate recent information.  The Standards list the ten activities pharmacists undertake to provide a comprehensive clinical pharmacy service to inpatients.  They also document the staffing required to deliver a clinical pharmacy service during normal business hours based on bed type.
 
The updated Supplement to the Standards recommends that one pharmacist, five-day week, eight-hour day, can provide clinical pharmacy services to 30 inpatients at most when the patients are at the lower end of the scale of need, and only 10-15 inpatients in critical care or specialty units.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Iron deficiency anaemia : 06/06/2011 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Iron deficiency anaemia

"The WHO defines anaemia as being characterised by a finding of a Haemoglobin (Hb) concentration of  <130 g/L in men, <120 g/L in women, and <110 g/L in pregnant women and preschool children. Clinical manifestations of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) include weakness, headache, irritability and fatigue. Less common symptoms include glossal pain, dry mouth, alopecia and generalised pruritus. Iron deficiency, without overt anaemia, is associated with cognitive impairment in pre-schoolers, teenagers and the elderly. The impact of even mild iron deficiency anaemia upon physical functioning of the elderly can be significant. A trial involving community dwelling elderly women found those with borderline Hb of 120–130 g/L performed worse than those with Hb 130–150 g/L on tests of walking speed, balance and ability to rise from a chair."

Click here to read the bulletin in full. The E‑Bulletins are archived on the AusPharmList website here.

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Reality of Chronic Pain: ‘Unbearable’ : 06/06/2011 :

According to a recent Pfizer Health Report, one in three Australians lives with chronic pain, a condition which they say is poorly understood, and which has led one in five to consider suicide.
 
Coralie Wales, President of Chronic Pain Australia believes the new statistics highlight the need for the federal and state governments to implement the National Pain Strategy.

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Pharmacists see bleak future : 03/06/2011 :

While there were some 'unusual' voting patterns in this week's AusPharm poll, the outcome was clear. Overwhelmingly, pharmacists would not recommend pharmacy as a career to students approaching tertiary education.

Even after adjusting for the voting irregularities in this week's poll, voter turnout (>500) was the highest ever by quite a margin.

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It’s 3am and Your GP is closed — Who Can You Call? : 03/06/2011 :

The Federal Government last week announced that Medibank has been appointed to be the operator for the after hours GP helpline that has recruited over 100 doctors.

Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon explained the after hours GP helpline is designed to make it easier for families to contact a doctor when they need to.

“Having a sick child is a worry for any parent. But, when that small cry for help comes at 3am, it can be even more concerning as many parents are left asking, ‘Who can I call for help?’,” Minister Roxon said.

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The Priceline Sisterhood : 03/06/2011 :

Priceline yesterday launched The Priceline Sisterhood, a national community program that has been developed to respond to the major health and wellbeing concerns of Australian women.  The initiative will raise awareness and funds for six charities that provide help and support to women in the areas of heart health, mental health, family wellbeing and fighting cancer.

The major health concerns were identified by Australia’s Biggest Health Check, a groundbreaking survey of more than 25,000 women.

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PSA national intern training program: second intake enrolments open : 02/06/2011 :

Enrolments for the 2011 Second Intake are now open for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s specialist National Intern Training Program (NITP).

The NITP is predominately an online program including tailored face-to-face workshops, workplace-based assessments and practical-based projects which have been developed after close consultation with PSA members and previous interns to ensure that the content is relevant.

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AusPharm CE: RGH E-Bulletin Digest No. 36 : 02/06/2011 :

The next in our 2011 series of continuing education activities is the RGH E-Bulletin Digest No. 36.

This CE activity assesses your understanding of four recent RGH Pharmacy E-Bulletins (Volumes 41-12 - 42-3  -->  April - May 2011).

After completing this activity, pharmacists should be able to:

• Outline to clinical pharmacology of pegloticase
• Discuss recent developments in the understanding of cardiovascular risk associated with NSAIDs
• Describe recent evidence developments relating to the use of exanitide
• Understand the different types of drug-induced tooth discoloration.

Click here to do this Continuing Education activity. Or, if you prefer, you might like to take a look at our other CE activities here .

AusPharm gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by MIMs.

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Latest edition of Australian Prescriber out now : 02/06/2011 :

The June 2011 issue of Australian Prescriber is now available online. Topics featured in this issue include:

• Managing HIV in general practice
• Treatments for snoring in adults
• Testing for HFE-related haemochromatosis
• Finding independent information on new drugs

It also contains the most recent Medicines Safety Update.

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NAPSA makes a difference : 02/06/2011 :

The National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) has so far raised more than $12,000 in support of the Day of Difference Foundation during its Annual Charity Cup, run this year during the month of April.

The NAPSA Charity Cup campaign is an initiative of the 2008/09 Pharmacy Awareness Committee and has successfully raised over $17,000 for Fred Hollows Indigenous Program over the past two years. In 2010 it was decided to support The Day of Difference Foundation.

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ACA takes a look at Sensaslim : 01/06/2011 :

AusPharm understands that the folk from Channel 9's A Current Affair have been conducting an investigation into the recently launched 'natural dietary aid', Sensaslim.

Barring unforeseen events, the story is scheduled to run tonight.

For background, click here.

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Poll: would you recommend pharmacy as a career? : 01/06/2011 :

'Listers will have read the report in yesterday's (e)news that a recent poll of pharmacy students determined that one quarter of those polled would not recommend pharmacy as a career to others.

Would you recommend pharmacy as a career to (say) a senior secondary school student? Please let us know by voting in this week's AusPharm poll.

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PHARMeFOOTY weekly wrap : 01/06/2011 :

AFL Round 10
 
AFL Round 10 saw just 4 tippers select all 8 winners. The best margin tip was from Rod Inglis of Kyneton Hospital so Rod becomes the weekly winner. In 2nd place was Rebecca Lockhart from Creswick Pharmacy with Anne Lake of Chevron Renaissance Pharmacy finishing 3rd.

NRL Round 12

NRL Round 12 was good for tippers with 75 selecting all the 7 winners. Brad Cartwright from Wesley Hospital tipped the perfect margin and wins the weekly prize. In 2nd place was Kevin Culla with Carly Wilson from Alphapharm in 3rd spot.

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Audit campaign focuses on Queensland pharmacies : 01/06/2011 :

The Fair Work Ombudsman is visiting hundreds of pharmacies throughout Queensland  to ensure employers are meeting their workplace obligations.

Fair Work inspectors are randomly auditing 500 pharmacies across all areas of the state. Pharmacies selected for audit will be scrutinised to ensure they have appropriate employment records and that payslips are being issued and are in order. Fair Work inspectors will also monitor staff entitlements such as minimum hourly rates of pay, overtime, minimum hours of engagement and meal breaks.

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Vaccine Side Effects Under the Microscope : 31/05/2011 :

Last week the federal government released an independent assessment of Australia's management of vaccine adverse events which recommends a more cohesive and coordinated national plan to deal quickly and effectively with health concerns about vaccines.

The review, conducted by by former Chief Medical Officer, Professor John Horvath AO, followed public alarm over the withdrawal of seasonal flu vaccines for children in the 2010 flu season due to an unusually high incidence of fever with convulsions following vaccination in some children under five years of age.

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