AusPharm CE : 15/10/2009 :

Sadly, a technical hitch means we weren't able to bring you a new CE activity last week. The activity was going to be Age Related Macular Degeneration - authored by Debbie Rigby.

"In Australia, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of visual disability and blindness in people over 60 years of age. It is responsible for nearly half of the cases of blindness in Australia. This article focuses on the role of evidence-based complementary medicines in the prevention and treatment of AMD."

We'll be publishing this on Thursday. In the meantime you might like to take a look at our other CE activities here .

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Pharmacists just as capable of scaremongering as anyone else : 15/10/2009 :

Seems to be 'vaccination day' on AusPharm today......

Here's a novel way to get the 'Pharmacists as medication experts' message across. This pharmacist has a bit to say about the safety of Panvax in a letter to the editor on Australia.to. Here's some extracts.

"I'm a qualified pharmacist. I've been researching the swine flu vaccine that our government has bought for us (using our money, by the way) and its DANGEROUS AS. Its easy a hundred times more dangerous than the swine flu itself, Imo"

"The swine flu vaccine contains 2 horribly dangerous compounds – one is called thimerosol. It is made 50% of mercury. It binds to receptors in your brain, and basically causes brain damage. Is it smart to be injected with thimerosol, and get brain damage, dropping 10 IQ points and going dumb, in order to avoid getting a flu that kills 95% less people than regular flu? No."

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TGA Issues safety alert on child resistant caps : 15/10/2009 :

The TGA has issued a safety alert relating to a number of liquid children's medicines.

According to the agency,  the caps on some children's liquid medicines may require tightening to ensure the child-resistant closure is activated correctly. Consumers have been advised to check the cap is working correctly by TIGHTENING it fully and THEN making sure that it does not unscrew without pressing down on the cap.

The details are on the TGA website here.

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Poll: My pharmacy's GP % is...... : 14/10/2009 :

The conventional (pharmacy) wisdom is that community pharmacy's gross margin has declined in recent years, partly in response to the appearance in the marketplace of warehouse style pharmacies.

This week's poll is a re-run of a poll we first ran back in 2003. It asks 'listers to tell us what the gross margin is in their pharmacy.

Please tick the relevant box in today's poll below.

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One in five Australian pre-schoolers diagnosed with asthma : 14/10/2009 :

By the age of 5, 21% of Australian children have been diagnosed with asthma and among those who did not have asthma by age five, 4% per year were diagnosed over the next two years.

These are amongst the findings from a two-year study on asthma and wheezing illness in one year olds and kindergarten children, released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

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RGH Pharmacy Department part of hospital swine flu effort : 14/10/2009 :

Given the controversy that exists around the multi-dose vial presentation of the H1N1 vaccine, the interns at the Pharmacy Department at the Repatriation General Hospital in Adelaide (Rachael Cheh and Phil Selby) draw up the doses each day, so that the busy nursing staff who administer the products to staff can use individually presented syringes prepared under clean conditions.

Since vaccinations began late last week, this multidisciplinary effort has resulted in the administration of over 400 doses. Rachel and Phil are shown below preparing the day's doses. (Click for a larger photo.)

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TGA downplays ADHD med ADR claims : 14/10/2009 :

The TGA yesterday downplayed claims made in mainstream media reports that reports of serious adverse reactions to drugs prescribed to children for ADHD had grown alarmingly in recent times.

The TGA says that the reports are based on a misinterpetation of the data and that no causal link between the drugs and the adverse effects had been established.

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View from the pharmacy door : 13/10/2009 :

Here's another entry in our 'View from the pharmacy door' competition, this time from Andrew Topp (for Jenny White).

This is the view from Jenny White's shop, Hooks Pharmacy in the main street of Cooma last Wednesday. The temperature at 10am was -3.7 deg.

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NPS offering outreach pharmacist training on stroke prevention : 13/10/2009 :

The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is inviting outreach pharmacists who provide pharmacy services to remote Aboriginal Health Services to participate in a new education program on stroke prevention.

The NPS Outreach Pharmacists for Remote Aboriginal Health Services program, which supports pharmacists to educate the staff they work with in remote Aboriginal communities, was first launched as a pilot program in the Northern Territory in June 2008. It has since been extended to pharmacists working in other remote areas across Australia.

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DMAS training program at PAC : 13/10/2009 :

Pharmacists looking to expand their knowledge about disease state management programs have an opportunity this week to attend a special two-day session at PAC in Sydney. An added bonus of the training is that for an additional $100 on top of the course fee, attendees get full access to PAC.

The Diabetes Medication Assistance Scheme (DMAS) training runs on Thursday 15 (9am-5pm) and Saturday 17 (11am-5pm) October, leaving plenty of time for attendees  to take advantage of the PAC program on Friday and Sunday, as well as the Saturday morning plenary session.

Interested? Contact Audra Millis on 0412 304 450.

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The great debate at PAC : 12/10/2009 :

A new feature on this year's PAC program is the "Great Debate" between Pharmacy experts with divergent views about the future direction for community pharmacy.

The subject to be debated is The answer to our future viability is increasing FOS sales not more professional services.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Prasugrel : 12/10/2009 :

"Prasugrel (Effient^®) is the latest addition to the thienopyridine class of medications (e.g. clopidogrel, ticlopidine). This drug is an irreversible antagonist of P2Y12 ADP receptor on platelets; thereby inhibiting platelet activation and aggregation."

Click here to read this E-Bulletin in full. The E-Bulletins are archived on the AusPharm website here.

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Reliance on homeopathy poses a threat : 12/10/2009 :

There's a nice op ed by Ron Batagol in Saturday's Australian newspaper.

"So, I have just one question for our health regulators: how do you sleep at night knowing you continue to allow homoeopathic products to be legally peddled in the healthcare marketplace as substitutes for effective therapeutic treatment for the most helpless and vulnerable members of the community, our children?"

You can read the piece in full here.

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PSE goes script only in NZ : 12/10/2009 :

The New Zealand government has announced that, commencing October 15, medicines containing pseudoephedrine will be reclassified as prescription only.

NZ Prime Minister John Key said the move was part of a package designed to cut back on the production of methamphetamine or 'p' as it is known in New Zealand.

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APESMA boost for Pharmacists’ Support Service : 12/10/2009 :

A unique support and counseling service for pharmacists has been given financial support by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists & Managers, Australia, a not-for-profit industrial relations organisation representing employee pharmacists.

The Pharmacists’ Support Service, managed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria and soon to be available nationally, has been in operation for 14 years and offers support for pharmacists in times of stress and crisis.

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Sinemet CR to be in short supply : 11/10/2009 :

Did you know that Sinemet CR will be in short supply in 2010?

Prescribers have been informed as has support group Parkinson's Australia, on whose website the 'Dear Prescriber' letter from Merck appears.

According to Merck only 20-50% of patients can expect  to receive uninterrupted supply of SINEMET CR in 2010, with details to be revealed in January.

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Pharmacists behaving badly : 09/10/2009 :

In its September newsletter the NSW Pharmacy Board recounts tales of pharmacists going into pharmacies, often in holiday areas, seeking schedule 4 medications for their own personal use on the basis that they are pharmacists.

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Poll result: suitably accredited pharmacists should be able to administer routine vaccinations in community pharmacies : 09/10/2009 :

Yes they should be, according to 71% of respondents (n=150) to this week's poll.

Of interest is the difference between this week's outcome and the outcome of an identical poll, run in September 2002. In that poll, only 54% of respondents thought that this was an appropriate role for community pharmacists.

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Pru Goward to address Women in Pharmacy group : 09/10/2009 :

Prominent NSW Member of Parliament Pru Goward, the State Shadow Minister for Community Services and Shadow Minister for Women, will address this year’s PAC Women in Pharmacy breakfast being held on Saturday 17 October.

The breakfast is a feature of PAC that many won’t want to miss, offering as it does an unrivalled opportunity for mentoring and networking, as well as observing great role models of women in pharmacy.

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Appeal to smokers' vanity says Pfizer : 09/10/2009 :

Champix sponsor Pfizer says that Australian smokers may be be more likely to quit smoking if they could foresee the skin damage and premature ageing to their face.

Research, conducted by Galaxy Research and funded by Pfizer Australia, suggests that three in four (73%) Australian smokers would be more likely to quit smoking if they could foresee the skin damage and premature ageing to their face.

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