Half price iPads : 18/08/2011 :

AusPharm has got on to a 'job lot' of iPads that we can pass on for half the normal price.

They are from a cancelled hospital contract due to the Government cutbacks in Tasmania.

Numbers are limited - we have 20 only - full specs below.

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September 2011 PBS schedule : 18/08/2011 :

The September 2011 PBS Schedule and the ‘Summary of Changes’ are now available.

Download the Full PBS schedule

Download the PBS Summary of changes

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NPS prescribing curriculum wins e-learning award : 18/08/2011 :

The NPS National Prescribing Curriculum has been awarded a Platinum Award for the Best Bespoke Learning Solution in the 2011 LearnX E-learning and Training Awards.

The e-learning modules are used in 16 of the 18 medical schools across Australia, in pharmacy and nurse practitioner courses and other educational programs for new prescribers like hospital internship programs.

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Senate report slams Cabinet PBS deferrals : 18/08/2011 :

The Senate Finance and Administration References Committee yesterday tabled its report on Government Administration of the PBS. The report criticised the Government’s management of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme reflects and condemned Federal Cabinet’s decision to defer the listing of new medicines on the PBS.

Medicines Australia CEO Dr Brendan Shaw said the Committee was sending the Government a clear signal that Cabinet should not interfere with the process of listing new PBS medicines.

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Latest NPS Clinical e-audit launched : 18/08/2011 :

On Tuesday NPS announced the publication of it's latest Clinical e-Audit, which aims to allow GPs and GP registrars to quickly and easily target lipid-modifying therapy to those patients at increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

NPS Clinical Adviser Dr Danielle Stowasser says the electronic activity aims to provide a structured method for GPs to look at the quality of their management of patients with or at risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Poll: how old are your pharmacy's computers? : 17/08/2011 :

In a post to AusPharmList yesterday Joe Conway wrote (in the context of Project STOP functionality): "Maybe there could be a poll on the "specs" of computers used at individual pharmacies. Maybe it would make interesting reading."

Sounds good to us Joe. Please let us know how old your pharmacy's PCs are by voting this week's AusPharm poll.

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Company to build PCEHR announced : 17/08/2011 :

Global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, Accenture, has been selected to lead a consortium that will the build the IT infrastructure for Australia’s national personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system.

Accenture will provide leadership to a consortium of companies, which also includes Orion Health and Oracle and will play a critical role in developing the PCEHR.

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Monash students take out the Clinical Skills competition at IPSF Congress : 17/08/2011 :

Students from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University have taken out the top prize in the Clinical Skills competition at the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) World Congress in Thailand.

The congress ran from 3-13 August and attracted 415 delegates from 51 countries, providing a worldview on the practice of pharmacy. The program covered professional practice and sciences as well as providing a forum for discussion.

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Sensaslim troubles deepen : 17/08/2011 :

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has commenced proceedings against Sensaslim Australia director Peter O’Brien alleging contempt of court.

Mr O’Brien is the sole director of Sensaslim Australia Pty Ltd, which is in liquidation. On 16 June 2011, the ACCC obtained interim orders to preserve money held in the Sensaslim account with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Material filed in court in support of the application included information from some Sensaslim franchisees.

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PHARMeFOOTY weekly wrap : 17/08/2011 :

AFL Round 21

AFL Round 21 saw 6 tippers select all the 8 winners. Jen Kelly from Fred Health had the best margin and takes 1st place but is ineligble to win the prize as Fred Health is a major PHARMeFOOTY sponsor. This allows 2nd place winner Helen Martin of Torrens Road Gordon to claim the weekly prize. In 3rd spot was  Kellie Stevenson from Vincentia Pharmacy.

NRL Round 23

NRL Round 23 saw just 3 tippers select all 8 winners. Sue Quayle from Hardy's Pharmacy had the best margin and wins the weekly prize. In 2nd place was  Fiona Feehan of Eltham Chemmart with Greg Parker from Torrens Road Gordon in 3rd position.

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PAC: skin disorders in children : 17/08/2011 :

Identifying and treating common skin disorders that children experience will be examined in detail in a Self Care presentation at PAC11.

During the concurrent session on Sunday morning, delegates will be given educational information and tips on these skin diseases and how to treat them.

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Dispensing doctors write fewer scripts : 16/08/2011 :

A study published in this week's MJA showed that dispensing doctors (DDs) in Australia write significantly fewer prescriptions than their non dispensing colleagues.

During the study, DDs issued fewer prescriptions per 1000 patients (9452 v 15 057; P = 0.003) but issued significantly more Reg.

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Pharmacy’s night of stars : 16/08/2011 :

The stars will be out for the PSA’s NSW Pharmacy Dinner this year which features a fresh look and feel that will see the function once again become the social event for the pharmacy profession in New South Wales.
 
Announcing the September date for the 2011 event, NSW President Charlie Benrimoj said, “There is no doubt, the NSW Pharmacy Dinner is a popular event for the profession’s family and friends to get together for a great night out in good company. 

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Melbourne biotech company aiming for the big time : 16/08/2011 :

Melbourne biotech company Starpharma Holdings Limited yesterday announced the commencement of a Phase 2 study of VivaGel® for the prevention of bacterial vaginosis (BV). 

The prevention of BV is the second area of investigation of the VivaGel® product for this condition.  In May 2011, Starpharma announced the positive results of its first study of VivaGel® for the treatment of BV, which showed that the product successfully treated patients suffering the illness, with very high levels of patient acceptability. 

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Medicines Partnership of Australia: PBS costs slowing : 16/08/2011 :

According to the latest analysis of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) undertaken by the Medicines Partnership of Australia, PBS expenditure is slowing and remains well under control.

The group says that the research should allay any concerns the Federal Government may have about the sustainability of the PBS.

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Sensaslim defamatation case thrown out : 16/08/2011 :

The defamation claim brought by the Sensaslim company against Dr Ken Harvey was finally dismissed in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.

Costs were awarded to Dr Harvey but it is unlikely he'll see any money as the Sensaslim cupboard is now said to be bare.

As reported yesterday, a new defamation writ was last week lodged in the Qld Supreme Court by Sensaslim Australia director Peter O'Brien. While the writ appears certain to fail, it does prevent, for the time being, consideration by regulatory authorities of the numerous claims made about the advertising of the Sensaslim product.

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PAC 2011 to feature early career pharmacist forum : 16/08/2011 :

Early Career Pharmacists have been invited to submit topics for discussion at the inaugural ECP forum being held as part of PAC11 in October.
 
The forum will give ECPs a unique opportunity to hear about developments within the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's ECP Working Group, in addition to discussing matters of particular relevance to ECPs.

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Perhaps pharmacists do have a role in mental health? : 15/08/2011 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has announced that it will shortly commence a review and revision of the Statement of Mental Health Care Capabilities for Pharmacists 2009.
 
Led by PSA Vice-President Claire O’Reilly, the project will update the current Statement to reflect the 2010 revision of PSA’s Competency Standards for pharmacists. 

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No pharmacists among new appointees to Indigenous Health Council : 15/08/2011 :

The Australian Government last week announced the new membership of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equality Council.

The council's role is to advise the Australian Government on the development and monitoring of health-related goals and targets to support initiatives to close the life expectancy gap and reduce the unacceptably high rates of child mortality among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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Sensaslim fighting to the death : 15/08/2011 :

The Sensaslim v Dr Ken Harvey case is up for consideration again today in the NSW Supreme Court. Dr Harvey's legal team is hopeful that the defamation claim lodged against him by the company will be finally thrown out by the court today.

If the Court does finalise the proceeding this would normally leave the way open for regulatory authorities to make a determination in the complaints lodged by Dr Harvey and several others in respect of therapeutic claims made by the company in its promotional material however the Complaints Resolution Committee is prevented from considering complaints while legal action is being undertaken.

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