minfos® now Mirixa compliant : 28/04/2009 :

Pharmacy software company minfos® announced yesterday that it was now able to make patient-care initiative Mirixa available to its 650+ pharmacies across Australia.

minfos® Manager Matt Lalor said minfos® customers across the country would begin beta-testing the Mirixa system in pharmacies in the coming weeks.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this functionality to our member pharmacies,” Matt said.

More on NT pharmacists and condoms : 27/04/2009 :

Last Friday, AusPharm was sent a copy of the NT Dept of Health and Family's advice to its employees on their responsibilities under the new Care and Protection of Children Act 2007. Click here to have a look.

It appears to say that the legislation trumps privacy considerations but offers no guidance on, for example, how to determine the age of someone buying condoms (or, presumably pregnancy tests, EHC or other contraceptives) and, for that matter, how to determine that someone buying condoms intends to use them for sex with someone under 16 years of age.

Have any of our NT pharmacist members received any advice from your professional associations or others on how to handle this issue?

RGH E-Bulletin: Respimat® inhaler : 27/04/2009 :

"Suboptimal inhaler technique is a major barrier to effectiveness of inhalation therapy. Many patients, particularly the elderly and the very young have difficulty correctly using currently available inhaler devices. Consequently, there is ongoing research into the development of inhaler devices that are easy to use and provide improved lung deposition. The Respimat® Soft Mist inhaler is a novel, metered-dose device for delivery of inhaled drugs to patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

Click here to read the bulletin in full.

The E-Bulletin is archived and previous editions can be viewed on the AusPharm website here.

$10k on offer to rural pharmacies wanting a pre-reg : 27/04/2009 :

Rural and remote pharmacies can receive up to $10,000 to assist in the employment of a pre-reg pharmacist under a Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Department of Health and Ageing incentive scheme.

The Rural Pharmacist Pre-Registration Incentive Allowance provides financial encouragement for rural and remote community pharmacies to employ a pre-registrant pharmacist.

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Bonjela (et al): what's the go? : 27/04/2009 :

Late last week the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a precautionary advice for topical oral pain relief gels containing salicylate salts. The new advice recommends these products not be used in children under 16-years-of-age as salicylate salts have the same effect on the body as aspirin which is already contraindicated in children under 16. The agency stressed that there are no new safety concerns and that this is a precautionary measure only.

Reckitt Benckiser Australia said that the MHRA advice was prompted by the recent review of a case of suspected Reyes Syndrome associated with the use of a teething gel containing salicylate. The review concluded that the child's symptoms were not consistent with Reyes Syndrome.

Similar advice to that issued in the UK last week has not been issued in Australia however the TGA is said to be looking into the issues raised in Britain.

PSA Tasmanian Branch funds PhD scholarship : 24/04/2009 :

Following a grant from the Tasmanian Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Auustralia three years ago, the School of Pharmacy at the University of Tasmania is able once again this year to offer a graduate research scholarship for three years study leading to a PhD.

The principal objective is to promote and develop postgraduate education research in pharmacy.

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Poll: staff internet use policy : 24/04/2009 :

This week's poll asked 'listers whether their workplace had a policy on how/whether staff can access the shop internet connection for personal use.

The results (n=111) suggest to us that most pharmacists aren't too worried about staff corrupting their systems by accessing dodgy sites. Either that or they are confident that, in 2009, with all the anti spy/virus/other malware software available that their computers' defenses are able to withstand external attack.

Drugs without barcodes : 23/04/2009 :

Back at the end of March PDL director for Tasmania, Robert Scanlon, asked us to see about getting AusPharmList members to help put together a list of dispensary products that lacked barcodes so that it could be brought to the notice of the TGA, and also publicised to pharmacists. He is delighted with the response and wishes to publicly thank the AusPharmList community for its assistance.

Pfizer Australia joins ASMI : 23/04/2009 :

Australia’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Australia, has joined up as a member to the Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI).
ASMI is the industry body representing manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) and complementary medicines.

Pfizer Australia and New Zealand General Manager, Established Products, Mark Crotty said membership of ASMI reflects the growth opportunities that Pfizer Australia sees in the OTC market.

 “Our investment in a more diverse range of products, including an increased range of OTC products means that there are distinct advantages in being part of a strong national industry body,” he said.

Fexofenadine to go open? : 23/04/2009 :

The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) yesterday called for public comment on matters before its June meeting.

While we already know that it will make a final (?) decision on upscheduling OTC codeine to S3, it will also consider a proposal to exempt fexofenadine in preparations for oral use for the short term (less than 5 days) treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis in pack sizes of not more than 10 dosage units.

Is this another category soon to be lost to pharmacy?

NT pharmacists and condoms : 23/04/2009 :

'Listers may have seen media reports yesterday to the effect that, under new underage sex laws,  pharmacists in the Northern Territory will have to report any 15-year-old buying condoms.

Guild President Kos Sclavos told AusPharm last night that the Guild has formulated a formal response which it will discuss with the NT government.

"Condoms are available in general retail environments such as petrol stations, supermarkets and even vending machines. We would be fascinated to know how these other retail establishments will monitor sales when they currently take no interest in monitoring sales of existing products they sell," he said.

FIP 2009 is in Istanbul : 22/04/2009 :

Click below to vist the Congress website.

Poll: staff internet use policy : 22/04/2009 :

Back at the end of 2007 there was a lively discussion on AusPharmList about (growing) staff use of Facebook, MySpace and other social networks (here). Presumably, 16 months on this is even more an issue than it was then.

Does your workplace have a policy to govern staff use of the internet while at work? Please vote in today's poll below and we'll see if we can determine how pharmacies are handling this.

Time to end self regulation of professionals? : 22/04/2009 :

"Why do we allow industries such as medicine and law to essentially regulate themselves? The answer is: We should not," writes lawyer and social commentator Greg Barnes in Monday's Hobart Mercury (here).

He goes on... "It is time that we stopped, as a society, regarding lawyers and doctors as some form of elite priesthood. It is high time they were treated in the same way as plumbers or cleaners."

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PHARMeFOOTY weekly wrap : 22/04/2009 :

AFL Round 4 proved extremely difficult for tippers with the average being only 3.7 winners! This wasn’t a problem for Zac Hunter of Creswick Pharmacy who was the only tipper to select all 8 winners, well done Zac the $50 is yours! Other good efforts came from Alisha Marfatia of Point Cook Pharmacy and Greg Cooper of Newtown Pharmacy both with 7 winners.

The overall Leaderboard see's Stefan Andrasek of Echuca Hospital take the outright lead by 1 from Robert Wood of Myrtleford Community Pharmacy and Paul Costeletos* of Fred Health. Better tipping for Round 5!

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Want to find out your 'Real Age'? : 21/04/2009 :

According to RealAge, more than 27 million people have taken the test, which asks 150 or so questions about lifestyle and family history to assign a “biological age,” how young or old your habits make you. Then, RealAge makes recommendations on how to get “younger,” like taking multivitamins, eating breakfast and flossing your teeth. Nine million of those people have signed up to become RealAge members.

Ready to brave it? Click here.

The New York Times recently published an interesting account of what "Real Age' is really about. Read it here.

Jail for a dispensing error? : 21/04/2009 :

Don't be ridiculous I hear you say.

Not so ridiculous if you're in the UK where pharmacist Elizabeth Lee was recently handed a three-month jail term – suspended for 18 months – and 12 months’ supervision for dispensing beta-blockers instead of steroids to a 72-year-old patient in August 2007 (read the full story here).

In a post to AusPharmList today (here) a 'lister suggests that we allow people to post accounts of their dispensing errors anonymously so that we might all learn from the experiences of others.

For now, we're happy to try this.

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NPS urges prescribers to use independent information sources : 21/04/2009 :

Earlier this month the 2007/08 Professional Services Review (PSR) 'Report to the professions' was released. The PSR Scheme was established by Medicare to provide a peer review mechanism to deal with inappropriate prescribing or dispensing practices.

The National Prescribing Service (NPS) yesterday welcomed recommendations in the report for prescribers to refer to evidence-based sources of information when making decisions about medicines.

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New TGA scheduling documents released for comment : 20/04/2009 :

The TGA has released for public consultation two documents relating to the proposed new separate arrangements for the scheduling of medicines and poisons - a proposed Scheduling Policy Framework and a proposed Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP).

These documents implement recommendations of the Galbally Review and decisions of the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council. They are now available on the TGA website at: http://www.tga.gov.au/ regreform/drscheduling.htm

The deadline for providing comment is close of business Friday May 29.

RGH E-Bulletin: Complementary and alternative medicines in RA : 20/04/2009 :

"This E-Bulletin addresses the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The definition of CAMs used here includes practices and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine practiced by medical doctors or allied heath professionals."

Click here to read the bulletin in full.

The E-Bulletin is archived and previous editions can be viewed on the AusPharm website here.

Click here to go to the old "Industry News" page (pre 01/09/2006).