New inhaler 'how to’ video for kids : 22/04/2010 :

As all 'listers know, up to 90 per cent of patients are not using their inhalers correctly. In response, the National Asthma Council Australia has just released a new, online video to demonstrate correct inhaler usage for children using a puffer and spacer.

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Martin Place awash with fags : 22/04/2010 :

In a quit smoking promotion Pfizer yesterday covered the ground in Martin Place with 10,000 imitation cigarettes.

The media event aimed to encourage those wanting to quit to talk to a health professional, presumably because the company believes this will result in more people requesting the Pfizer quit product Champix.

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Phase II of pharmacy Swine Flu Vaccinations trial a hit with locals : 22/04/2010 :

Last month we reported on a very successful Tasmanian pilot 'in pharmacy' Swine Flu Vaccination program (here).

Phase II of the Swine Flu Vaccinations in pharmacy program has just concluded and saw over 2700 patients vaccinated. Nurse immunizers in the original five pharmacies in the South vaccinated 980 patients. 

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PHARMeFOOTY weekly wrap : 21/04/2010 :

NRL Round 6 was a tough one with no tippers able to select all the 8 winners. Tanya Bleach from Essendon chose the best margin and wins the weekly prize, well done Tanya! In 2nd place was Roland Mosterd of Medicare Australia with David Briggs from Kids Hospital Westmead in 3rd position.

AFL Round 4 was a tippers delight with a massive 89 tippers selecting all 8 winners! Surprisingly not one tipper selected the exact margin which left 4 tippers tied on a 1 point margin. Total overall margin decided the result and Leigh Preston from Ararat Healthwise takes out the weekly prize, congratulations Leigh. In 2nd place was Gavin Lowcock of Figtree Plaza Chemist with Trevor Tilley from Waterfall Gully Pharmacy in 3rd spot.

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PSA chloramphenicol protocol : 21/04/2010 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia yesterday released a protocol to support PSA members when dealing with the requests for chloramphenicol.

The evidence-based protocol outlines how to appropriately establish a patient’s needs, for example, in differentiating bacterial, viral and allergic conjunctivitis.

(Also watch this space tomorrow (see below) when we'll be publishing the next of our CE activities for this year - Conjunctivitis - put together for us by Professor Greg Peterson.)

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ASMI on multivitamins and breast cancer - don't worry be happy : 21/04/2010 :

The Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI), the industry body representing non-prescription consumer healthcare products, moved yesterday to reassure consumers who use multivitamins that media reports associating the use of these products with increased risk of breast cancer were alarmist.

ASMI Regulatory & Technical Manager for Complementary Medicines, Ruth Kendon said the nature of the study (published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) leaves considerable doubt as to whether there is any causal relationship between the use of multivitamins and the higher than normal incidence of breast cancer.

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PSA: Hospital deal a good first step : 21/04/2010 :

The agreement reached between the Federal Government and State and Territory Governments over hospital reform is a good step towards reforming the whole health-care system in Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says.

National President of the PSA, Warwick Plunkett, said the difficulties encountered in reaching the agreement on hospitals funding was symptomatic of the complexity of the problem the Federal Government faced in reforming the health system.

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Poll: have this year's flu vaccine 'issues' caused you much grief? : 21/04/2010 :

There have been a number of posts to AusPharmList over the last few weeks critical of the way the changes to PBS (or other free) eligibility for access to flu vaccines has been managed by the federal Health Department. Also common have been posts critical of vaccine short (or non) supply. Not a good year at all according to some.

What's it been like in your pharmacy this year? Please let us know by voting in this week's AusPharm poll.

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Mother's Day Fun run : 21/04/2010 :

‘COMPEED® and the Australian Pharmaceutical Publishing Company are giving pharmacists & pharmacy assistants the chance to take part in the Mother’s Day Classic fun run – for free!

The Mother’s Day Classic is a fun run/walk in aid of breast cancer research that takes place on Mother’s day (9th May 2010) all over Australia.

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Another CPD option for consultant pharmacists : 20/04/2010 :

For the first time this year, the Australian College of Pharmacy offered a 'clinical' stream at its conference, held last week and over the weekend in the Barossa Valley.

Presenters included Dr Geraldine Moses, Dr Treasure McGuire, Prof. Andrew McLachlan and Margaret Robinson.

ACP President Trevor Clarkin said that, while the numbers choosing the clinical stream this year were modest, the College would be offering it again at next year's conference.

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Compounding - another professional service to offer? : 20/04/2010 :

In a presentation to delegates at the Australian College of Pharmacy conference in the Barossa Valley over the weekend, Jenny Giam, from Professional Compounding Chemists of Australia (PCCA) gave a compelling presentation that highlighted to delegates that 'compounding' is another professional service available to them to help them fill the void caused by the present (and impending) decline in their dispensary profits.

By way of demonstration, Ms Giam told delegates that three pharmacies recently valued by Ravens were showing gorss profit percentages of 65%, 58% and 52%, compared to the usual range of 30% - 35% (20%-25% if you're a discounter!).

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AusPharm database server throws a wobbly : 20/04/2010 :

The server on which our member database resides became quite temperamental for a while yesterday, resulting in it sending out loads of INCORRECT renewal notices for AusPharm premium memberships.

To the best of our knowledge these were ALL INCORRECT so if you got one, please tear it up and throw it in the bin.

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Hide your hovercraft : 20/04/2010 :

'Listers may recall we ran a 'non poll' a few weeks back asking people how they were going for hovercraft they had / had not acquired by virtue of their particpation in the Sigma rewards program. 

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Industry says no to Therapeutic Groups : 19/04/2010 :

In a submission to Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry into Consumer Access to Pharmaceutical Benefits which was released this week, Medicines Australia (MA) said that the formation of new therapeutic groups should not be part of managing the PBS.

The submission highlights the potential risks of forming such therapeutic groups for patients, Government and industry.

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Cardiovascular deaths fall, especially among older Australians : 19/04/2010 :

Death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) have fallen since 1987, with the greatest declines being among older people, according to a report released on Friday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The report, Cardiovascular disease mortality: trends at different ages, looks at trends in CVD deaths across different age and sex groups, and across the main individual diseases that make up cardiovascular disease.

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Robots to the rescue? : 19/04/2010 :

In a presentation to delegates at the Australian College of Pharmacy conference in the Barossa Valley on Friday University of Sydney Professor of Pharmacy Management Lesley White told delegates the point at which it becomes economically sustainable to install a dispensary robot was approximately 270 scripts a day.

This is much lower than the 400-450 scripts a day previously thought  to be the 'break even point'.

Professor White said that future generations of pharmacists would view today's dispensing technology in the same way that we today look back at prescription books and typewriters.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Clinical applications of prostaglandins : 19/04/2010 :

The topic of this RGH E‑Bulletin is Clinical applications of prostaglandins..

"Prostaglandins (PG) (including prostacyclin, PGI2) and thromboxanes (TX) are fatty acid derivatives collectively known as prostanoids, initially synthesised from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenases (COX). They perform numerous physiological functions, making them useful therapeutic targets for a range of clinical applications. Certain drugs are targeted at inhibiting the production of prostanoids (e.g. NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors which act by reversibly inhibiting COX), but there are also other drugs which act therapeutically by replacing or mimicking endogenous prostaglandins. Prostanoids have a very short half life before being inactivated and excreted which often limits administration options."

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

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May 2010 PBS schedule : 19/04/2010 :

The May PBS schedule and 'Summary of Changes' are now on-line:

Full PBS schedule

Summary of changes

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Xenophon pledges support : 16/04/2010 :

During his speech while opening the Australian College of Pharmacy's conference in the Barossa Valley yesterday, independent senator Nick Xenophon pledged to go into battle for community pharmacy if it faced further federal funding cuts.

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Codeine containing compound analgesics to cost more : 16/04/2010 :

This week's AusPharm poll asked 'listers whether the rescheduling of codeine containing compound analgesics would prompt them to reconsider their pricing policies for these products.

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