Big Pharma keeps the R&D policy pressure on : 21/10/2010 :

Peak Australian Pharma body Medicines Australia issued a statement yesterday spruiking the merits of a new report released by Lateral Economics that underscores the social and economic value of medical research and development.

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Language difficulties can lead to further health problems : 21/10/2010 :

Health information can be difficult for anyone without a medical degree to understand, but for people with English as a second language it can be even more challenging – and have significant consequences.

The latest edition of the NPS publicaton MedicinesTalk includes useful information for health professionals and people caring for anyone from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background.

“A quarter of all Australians were born overseas, many in countries with different languages, cultures and beliefs about health and medicines,” NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said.

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Poll: how involved do you get in scheduling decisions? : 20/10/2010 :

Rescheduling decisions can change the face of pharmacy, have a significant impact on the ability of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants to offer effective solutions to common problems, and have substantial cost implications. For example, currently under consideration is the up-scheduling of cough and cold ingredients which will affect just about every cough/cold product currently sold in pharmacy. The record of reasons, or reasons for delegate's decisions, behind scheduling decisions reflect how complex these issues can be, and give some insight into which are the overriding factors that tip a decision a certain way.

Although new processes and committees for making scheduling changes to the Poisons Standard took effect from 1 July 2010, the purpose of this area of regulation and the ability for input from pharmacists remains. One of the aspects of the process that has changed, is that the new Advisory Committee for Medicines Scheduling (ACMS) will comprise expert advisory members, rather than representatives of specific fields as was the case with the former NDPSC (National Drugs & Poisons Scheduling Committee). Membership of the new ACMS is yet to be finalised; the delay is due to the Federal Election and associated extended caretaker period.

Given the impact that scheduling changes to the Poisons Standard can have on pharmacy, balanced with the 'not enough hours in the day' problem of most practising pharmacists, how involved do you get in scheduling changes before they are fait accompli?

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Pharmacy-based flu vaccination : 20/10/2010 :

Pharmacists perform an important primary care role in the provision of information regarding vaccinations and also identifying appropriate patients who should receive vaccinations.
 
Following a highly successful trial in Tasmania, Dr Shane Jackson will give a presentation on pharmacy-based flu vaccination as part of the Professional Practice: New Professional Services in Pharmacy concurrent stream at PAC 10.

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Updated medication review guidelines released : 20/10/2010 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has released updated guidelines for pharmacists providing Home Medicines Review (HMR) services and Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) and Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) services to aged care homes.

PSA was contracted under the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement to review and update the Professional Practice Standards as well as any practice guidelines identified as in need of development or review.

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Consumer Health Forum urges states, feds to get their act together : 20/10/2010 :

Commenting on the TGA's Monday release of its reaction to the WA government's report on the handling of the suspension of the 2010 WA seasonal influenza vaccination program for children, the Consumer Health Forum's (CHF) CEO Carol Bennett said yesterday that there is an urgent need for state a fedaral health authorities to communicate more effectively.

Ms Bennett said yesterday that CHF welcomed the public release of the detailed response by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to claims in a report by former Western Australian Chief Medical Officer, Professor Bryant Stokes, of system failures, including adverse events reporting, during the 2010 seasonal flu vaccine program.

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Webstercare October Newsletter : 19/10/2010 :

Every second month our friends at Webstercare produce a newsletter that is distributed to all aged care homes throughout Australia.

They've kindly agreed to make it available to pharmacists too, through AusPharm.

The latest edition (October) contains articles on:

• Webstercare - Continuous Improvement Over Time: Aged care now is radically different to 30 years ago. So is Webstercare. We have grown and technologically improved, providing the best medication management systems in the world.
• Medication-Induced Asthma: This month’s edition of Continuing Education explores this important issue in aged care.
• eWebstercare MedsComm: MedsComm is a new, electronic way of communicating with the pharmacy and sending and tracking orders saving time money and hassles.
• Webstercare Options: Webstercare has an extensive range of medication management systems designed to suit any aged care facility.

Click here to download the October Webstercare newsletter in full (418kb pdf). Click here if you have any feedback, suggestions or queries about the newsletter.

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TGA concerns over Stokes Review into WA suspended vaccine program : 19/10/2010 :

The TGA has issued a detailed response to the Stokes Review which, conducted under the auspices of Western Australian authorities, looked into events leading to the suspension of the 2010 WA seasonal influenza vaccination program for children. This vaccination program involved WA diverging from the national vaccination program and setting their own influenza vaccination schedule.

The TGA believes that fall-out from the WA State experience has damaged the credibility of the national vaccination program in Australia. Furthermore, the agency believes there are a number of misunderstandings in the Stokes review that, if not corrected, are likely to lead to further undermining of the current national framework and controls. The TGA says that, in order to limit damage to what is one of the world's best vaccination programs, it has now issued a report to set the record straight. Until now the TGA has refrained from responding publicly to developments in WA following the program suspension.

Read the TGA response here.

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Online poll of doctors reflects lack of confidence in generics? : 19/10/2010 :

Results of a small online poll of doctors (n=101) commissioned by Somac manufacturers, Nycomed, reflect that a portion of doctors lack confidence in substitution and dispensing of generics. Doctors were invited to participate in the poll through online banner ads on 6minutes.com.au; AustralianDoctor.com.au and the healthcare professional section of VirtualMedicalCentre.com.au. A series of 10 questions about generic medicines was put to doctors.

When asked: "Do you believe pharmacists should be involved in the decision process of when to substitute generically?" 51.5% of respondents said no, 42.6% said yes.

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November 2010 PBS schedule : 18/10/2010 :

The November PBS schedule and the 'PBS Summary of Changes' available here.

Download the Full PBS schedule

Download the PBS Summary of changes

The S100 Highly Specialised Drugs Program schedule is now included in the PBS schedule.

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An outlet for your patients' complaints about medicines labels : 18/10/2010 :

Do you have patients complaining about how difficult it is to read or understand medicines labelling, or use the packaging? Over the next few weeks you can offer them a constructive avenue for their input on how this area can be improved, by suggesting they respond to the Consumer Health Forum's call for consumer comments on medicine labelling and packaging.

To help prompt comments, the CHF has posed a set of 14 questions, but input does not need to be restricted to these questions and can be in any format. The CHF has provided these key questions in a 14-page background paper which also brings interested consumers up to speed on what is required on labels, issues, research findings and current recommendations in this area.

Consumer comments are due in to the CHF by Friday 29 October 2010, and will be used to develop the agenda for a CHF consultative workshop in November 2010 on medicines labelling and packaging. The outcome of this work will be reported to the NPS, and incorporated into CHF's policy development in this area.

For further information refer to the CHF website or contact contact Maiy Azize, Project Officer at m.azize@chf.org.au or (02) 6273 5444 (STD calls from consumers will be returned).

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Wicheproof vs Eskarou : 18/10/2010 :

The story of a pharmacist trying to set up a pharmacy in a Victorian country town which would have the effect of closing down the dispensing doctor's dispensing practice was picked up by the Melbourne Age over the weekend.

The Age reports that 'Adelaide-based Egyptian businessman who runs a chain of chemists shops', Mechel Eskarou, is set to open a pharmacy in Wycheproof, where the previous local pharmacy took a federal payout in the early 1990s and closed down, presumably because it wasn't viable.

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Complete Sleep wins at AMI 2010 : 18/10/2010 :

Sanofi-aventis Consumer Healthcare was awarded the Best Product Launch Award at the Australian Marketing Institute’s 2010 Awards for Marketing Excellence, held in Melbourne last week.

The award was presented to sanofi-aventis Consumer Healthcare for the Nature’s Own Complete Sleep launch.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Nebivolol : 18/10/2010 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Nebivolol

"Nebivolol is the newest addition to the range of beta blockers used for heart failure. This selective beta-1 receptor antagonist has been used in many countries for the treatment of hypertension, and more recently for heart failure. The Australian Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) recently approved nebivolol for use in chronic heart failure in addition to other standard therapies. Three studies have directly compared nebivolol with carvedilol, a non-selective beta and alpha-1 blocker."

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

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Military pharmacy Special interest group (MILSIG) workshop : 18/10/2010 :

The Military Pharmacy Special Interest Group (MILSIG) workshop will be held on Thursday, 28 October 2010.
 
This workshop will give those with a specific interest in military pharmacy the opportunity to get together to discuss some of the issues and developments in this sector.  

A key presenter at the workshop will be Colonel Georgeina Whelan, Command Health Officer, Headquarters Forces Command. Colonel Whelan will speak about the restructure of Army Health Support. 

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Australian Medicines Handbook pre-publication specials : 15/10/2010 :

Australian Medicines Handbook is currently running pre-publication specials. This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase AMH (in a number of formats) at a discounted price. 

This year AMH has introduced a new package, AMH Multi. AMH Multi is designed for community pharmacies and consists of a three-screen multi-user subscription to AMH Online and reference copy of the AMH 2011 Book.

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New Medicines Safety Update available : 15/10/2010 :

The most recent Medicines Safety Update published by the TGA has now been made available on the TGA website. In brief, this update highlights the following areas of concern:

• Cholinesterase inhibitors [donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), galantamine (Galantyl, Reminyl] have been associated with syncope and fall-related injuries, including hip fracture.
• The combination of a macrolide antibiotic and a statin [clarithromycin or erythromycin with simvastatin or atorvastatin] can increase the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis.
• Most adverse event reports involving the oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban (Xarelto) received by the TGA describe thrombotic or haemorrhagic events, consistent with international experience and the known safety profile of rivaroxaban.The TGA is encouraging health professionals to report any AEs with this medication.
• Uterine perforation is a known but rare complication associated with the levonorgestrel releasing IUD [Mirena].

 These are the safety areas of particular concern to the TGA recently. However the TGA encourages reporting of any suspected adverse events with all medicines, whether they are prescription, OTC or complementary products. Reporting can be done online.

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Voluntary euthanasia and dispensing associated scripts : 15/10/2010 :

This week's AusPharm poll reflects that if voluntary euthanasia was made legal, around half of the pharmacists that voted would dispense a legally valid script for a substance or combination that they suspected was intended for voluntary euthanasia. This 50% was broken down into 33% dispensing without question, but 14% dispensing only if they were sure the patient was terminally ill.

A substantial proportion of voters would would refuse to dispense: 16% on moral grounds and 10% for fear of legal consequences. A further 16% were not certain they would recognise such a script for what it was, and 11% felt this was a matter about which they choose not to share their likely actions.

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PSA intern training program accredited : 15/10/2010 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s National Intern Training Program (NITP) has been granted accreditation by the Australian Pharmacy Council.

The APC, in its capacity as independent accreditation body for the Pharmacy Board of Australia, has been tasked with the accreditation of Intern Training Program (ITP) providers following the implementation of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme on 1 July 2010.

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Nurse and medical practitioner workforce figures published : 14/10/2010 :

In the period 2004 to 2008, the number of employed doctors increased by 18% and nurses by 12% in Australia, according to reports published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today. Despite this increase, regional areas still lag behind major cities in doctors per head of population - 187 (regional) vs 376 (city) full-time equivalent medical practitioners per 100,000 people. Nurses were more prevalent in very remote areas compared to cities with 1 275 and 1 035 FTE nurses respectively per 100,000 people.

Although an earlier period, the pharmacy workforce report from 2001 gives a rough idea of the pharmacist equivalent. The AIHW reported that in 1999 there were 77.7 pharmacists per 100,000 people in Australia. This broke down to 86.7 FTE per 100,000 population in capital cities and 33.7 in remote areas.

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