ASMI critical of TGA disallowing PPI advertising : 26/08/2011 :

The Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) says that it is disappointed with the TGA (interim) decision to disallow advertising to the public of the OTC proton pump inhibitor Rabeprazole (Pariet).  This follows a previous rejection by the delegate of advertising of OTC Pantoprazole (Somac) earlier this year.

“These decisions make it very hard for consumers to be made aware that medicines are now available from pharmacists without prescription, and keeping this information from consumers does not appear to serve any useful public health purpose ” Dr Schoombie said.

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Still early days for online pharmacy sales for most : 26/08/2011 :

This week's poll tried to get a sense of how much business Australian pharmacies were generating from their websites.

Not much seems to be the answer for most.

Almost 2/3 of respondents to our poll either didn't have a website at all (44%) or had a basic information only type site (21%). Only 14% of respondents told us their websites generated significant business for them.

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The Stage is Set : 26/08/2011 :

The Guildcare Professional Services software bundle will add another string to its bow with the imminent release of the Staged Supply Recording Service.  This service was developed in response to pharmacist requests that GuildCare should offer software efficiencies for this historically frustrating and poorly-systemised pharmacy service. 

The GuildCare Staged Supply Recording Service allows pharmacies to efficiently create a staged supply schedule using GuildCare software. 

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Aussie men not taking action to manage their osteoporosis and osteoarthritis : 26/08/2011 :

Women are more likely than men to seek treatment for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found. The report, Population differences in health-care use for arthritis and osteoporosis in Australia, shows that when it comes to managing their osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, the level of inaction is significantly higher for men than women.

‘This inaction includes not visiting a health professional, taking medications or making lifestyle changes,’ said AIHW spokesperson Dr Adrian Webster.

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Have a say on scheduling : 25/08/2011 :

The interim decisions and the reasons for the decisions made at the the June 2011 meetings of the Advisory Committee on Chemical Scheduling and the Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling have now been published.

Both committees have invited further submissions on these interim decisions, which relate to, amongst other things, the scheduling of loperamide, nicotine, an orphenadrine / paracetamol combination and a number of substances contained in cough and cold preparations.

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One week left to enrol in PSA Intern Training Program : 25/08/2011 :

Pharmacy students moving into the workforce as practising pharmacists have until 31 August 2011 to enrol in the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s National Intern Training Program (NITP), the pre-eminent program that helps to equip students for their working career after years of study.
 
Such is the status of the PSA program that it has been granted accreditation by the Australian Pharmacy Council, the independent accreditation body for the Pharmacy Board of Australia which 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 last year.

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PHARMeFOOTY weekly wrap : 24/08/2011 :

AFL Round 22

AFL Round 22 was a good one for tippers with 20 selecting all 8 winners. The result came down to cumulative margin with Merryn Driesen from Good Price Pharmacy taking the weekly prize. In 2nd place was Heath Robbins of Discount Pharmacy Australia with Jude McCarthy from McCarthys Pharmacy in 3rd spot.

NRL Round 24

NRNRL Round 24 was great for tippers with 59 selecting all 8 game winners. Michael Bark had the best margin tip so wins the weekly prize. In 2nd place was Michael Broadbent from Torrens Road Gordon with Malcolm Martin also from Torrens Road Gordon in 3rd position.

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Poll: does your pharmacy have a web presence? : 24/08/2011 :

The notion that community pharmacies need a website was first floated some years back - one of the first in Australia was the Dover Pharmacy website, launched by the owner of the pharmacy at the time, Mark Dunn, in 1996.

More recently industry commentators have been strongly advocating that pharmacies establish a web presence as part of a multi channel marketing plan (see Bruce Annabel's recent article on AusPharm  ).

Does your pharmacy have a website? Please let us know by ticking the relevant box in this week's AusPharm poll.

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New CEO for Preventive Health Agency : 24/08/2011 :

Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler  yesterday announced the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive Officer for The Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA).

The position of CEO will be filled by Ms Louise Sylvan. Ms Sylvan was previously a Productivity Commissioner, having been appointed to that role in 2008 and is well known for her work in enhancing consumer rights in a range of areas such as health, food safety, and financial services as well as in competition and consumer policy. She has been appointed for a period of five years.

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Workforce data to be collected : 24/08/2011 :

The Pharmacy Board of Australia will be conducting a workforce survey for all registered pharmacists to coincide with pharmacist registration renewal on November 30, 2011.

The Board has invited pharmacy organisations to submit questions for inclusion in the survey

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Sansom's term at PBAC comes to an end : 24/08/2011 :

Follow the August 12 meeting of the 2011 Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom stepped down as Chair, a position he has occupied since January 2001.

At the time of Professor Sansom’s initial appointment there was considerable tension and uncertainty concerning the ongoing role of PBAC. Professor Sansom and the PBAC’s committee members worked extremely hard to initiate and successfully cement a robust dialogue with stakeholders including consumer groups, industry and prescribers.

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NAPSA attends IPSF World Congress 2011 : 23/08/2011 :

The International Pharmacy Student Federation (IPSF) held its 57th annual World Congress in Hat Yai, Thailand, from 3rd to 13th August 2011. NAPSA was well represented well with twelve delegates, an Executive Committee Member, and a past IPSF President in attendance.

NAPSA’s strategic plan to increase their international presence and active involvement in IPSF commenced, with two NAPSA members being elected onto IPSF subcommittees.

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Debbie Rigby reappointed to NPS Board : 23/08/2011 :

Debbie Rigby, pictured right, has been reappointed to the NPS Board for a further three years as the Health Practitioner Class (Pharmacist) Director. Ms Rigby first joined the NPS Board in August 2008.
 
NPS Chair, Dr Janette Randall, says Ms Rigby is a very well respected member of the Board and brings a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience from her work within the pharmacy and broader health sector.

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Gold Cross endorses electricity provider : 23/08/2011 :

Gold Cross yesterday endorsed the Eutility company as a provider of electricity price negotiation services to Pharmacy Guild members. Most Guild members who receive their bill directly from an energy retailer will now be eligible to apply for the bulk tendering services of Eutility at no cost to the pharmacy.

For more information go to www.eutility.com.au/goldcross where there is also a Q&A section.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Association of NSAIDs with atrial fibrillation : 23/08/2011 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Association of NSAIDs with atrial fibrillation

"Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most widely used drug groups worldwide. Gastrointestinal toxicity, renal impairment and heart failure associated with these drugs have been a concern for some time. The risk of myocardial infarction associated with NSAIDs has also been highlighted. More recently there has been focus on the association of NSAIDs with atrial fibrillation (AF). Atrial fibrillation is the most common rhythm disorder in clinical practice, leading to an increased risk of thromboembolic stroke and heart failure. Ageing patients are increasingly more likely to suffer from AF, plus they also may suffer from the conditions prompting NSAID use."

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

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Recommendations made by the PBAC (July 2011) : 22/08/2011 :

The recommendations made by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) in July 2011 relating to the listing of drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) have now been published on the PBAC website, here.

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Careers in the pharmaceutical industry : 22/08/2011 :

Approaching a job outside the traditional hospital and community pharmacy areas can be daunting, but a special workshop session at PAC11 will give pharmacists insights into how to do this, and also detail what roles there are in the pharmaceutical industry which may fit their skills.
 
Presented by pharmacists Geraldine Peterson-Clark, Medical Affairs Team Leader at Boehringer Ingelheim, and by Karen Raines who has industry experience with several pharmaceutical companies, the workshop will provide attendees with a “hands-on” style opportunity to experience the various roles for pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry, including such things as medical information, regulatory affairs, pharmaceutical representation, pharmacovigilance and medico-marketing.

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2011 ASMI Sales and Marketing Awards : 22/08/2011 :

Entries have opened for the 2011 ASMI Sales and Marketing Awards with the winners to be announced at the Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) Conference in Sydney in November. ASMI has revamped its the awards for 2011, with new award categories, new judging criteria, and an expanded judging panel.

The judging panel has been expanded this year from four to six and will comprise a pharmacist, a pharmaceutical trade journalist, a senior executive from the healthcare industry, and representatives from the consumer sector and the public relations and advertising industries.

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Montgomery quits Pfizer : 19/08/2011 :

General Manager of Pfizer's Established Products for Australia & New Zealand with responsibility for the Pfizer Direct distribution model, John Montgomery (pictured right), has left the position less than 3 months after assuming the role.

Mr Montgomery had previously been CEO of Alphapharm from 1999 to 2010 and took on the role at Pfizer after the departure of Mark Crotty in April. Mr Crotty oversaw the introduction of Pfizer Direct.

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Pharmacy computers a mixed bag : 19/08/2011 :

This week's poll asked 'listers to let us know how old the computers in their pharmacies are. We asked exactly the same poll question we asked in a 2009 poll so we could compare results.

While it seems that there are more 'newer' computers than 2 years ago, there a significantly more that are 5 years or more old. ie those that were 3-5 years old 2 years ago seem to still be in operation and are now 5 or more years old.

Given that computers are now inexpensive compared to 5 years ago AusPharm is a little puzzled by this result.

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