Chemist & Druggist articles from January 2005

Chemist & Druggist archives from January 2005

Advice for returning tsunami victims.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Health organisations' advice is available for community pharmacists to offer returning travellers affected by the South Asia tsunami. The Health Protection Agency has issued advice warning health professionals that returning travellers...

Scotland to secure pharmacy services with legislation.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Scotland's community pharmacists will need to register with all the NHS Boards they intend to practice in, according to draft legislation published by the Scottish Executive. Published last month, the Smoking, Health and Social Care...

NI contractors say yes to new contract framework.(Northern Ireland Health Department)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Northern Ireland pharmacists have voted in favour of their new contract framework proposals. Just over two thirds (69 per cent) of the 511 contractors voted, of whom 98.3 per cent said yes and 1.7 per cent said no. The negotiating body...

Reid blueprint for long-term conditions includes pharmacy.(John Reid )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Health secretary John Reid confirmed pharmacists' role in managing patients with long-term conditions as he announced plans to overhaul patient care this week. Dr Reid spoke of community pharmacists' role in screening for diabetes and how...

New BAPW chief.(British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers appoints David Coles )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... UniChem managing director David Coles took over as chairman of the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers on January 1 from AAH Pharmaceuticals group managing director Steve Dunn. Mr Coles, whose term of office lasts for two...

Election dates.
January 8, 2005... Nominations for this year's Royal Pharmaceutical Society Council election must be submitted by noon on February 25. Comprising 17 elected pharmacists, one university-appointed pharmacist, two pharmacy technicians and 10 lay members, the new...

SLS additions.(Selected List Scheme)(Oseltamivir and zanamivir )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) have been added to the list of drugs that may only be prescribed on the NHS in certain circumstances. The changes to the Drug Tariff Part XVIIIB (Selected List Scheme) came into effect in...

Lincoln Co-operative Chemists Healthcare Fund.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Lincoln Co-operative Chemists' chain of 30 pharmacies has donated the proceeds of its Healthcare Fund to 42 local good causes. Created to return dividends accrued from prescription business to the community, last year the fund totalled #44,000....

Diamorphine shortage.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Department of Health has asked healthcare professionals to conserve diamorphine injections because of a potential shortage. Stocks of the opioid injections should be reserved for those most in need such as palliative care patients, said...

Cegedim buys Enigma Health.(Enigma Health UK Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... French healthcare IT supplier Cegedim has bought pharmacy systems provider Enigma Health for an undisclosed sum. Formerly part of UniChem, the purchase of Enigma strengthens Cegedim's UK presence. The company currently provides services to...

Europe rules out SSRIs in children.(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The European medicines regulatory body has recommended that SSRIs including fluoxetine should not be given to any paediatric patient, in contradiction to current UK guidelines. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use says that...

NPA Link sparks `conflict' worry.(National Pharmaceutical Association)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The NPA's new individual membership category went live on January 1 amid criticism that it could face conflict with existing members who are pharmacy owners. Membership of NPA Link gives individual pharmacists access to NPA services such...

Bid to cut CHD.(coronary heart disease)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The DoH has published a guide aimed at cutting coronary heart disease in the UK's South Asian community. The guide, developed with the British Heart Foundation, provides case studies and other resources showing how best to prevent and treat...

Pregestimil withdrawal.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Mead Johnson Nutritionals has withdrawn Pregestimil powdered infant formula following a possible link to four cases of Enterobacter sakazakii infection in infants in France that led to two deaths. The organism has previously been associated...

PharmAid week.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... AAH Pharmaceuticals' van drivers have collected six pallets of recently outdates copies of the British National Formulary and other pharmacy textbooks to support the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association's PharmAid week. The books will be...

Public health under review.(Public Notice)
January 8, 2005... The Commons health select committee has announced an inquiry into the Government's public health White Paper. The committee will examine whether the proposals enable the Government to achieve its public health goals and whether the...

Unsung hero award.(Carolyn Woodward )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Dispenser Carolyn Woodward has won an `unsung hero' award for her work at Rowlands Pharmacy in Cowley, Oxford. Ms Woodward received an award, certificate and a week's all-inclusive holiday in Mexico as her retail/catering category winner's...

Let prison staff supply GSLs.(general sales list)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... An MHRA proposal to allow specified prison staff to supply GSL medicines to prisoners out of hours has met with a mostly positive response. Over half (39) of the 65 organisations and individuals replying to the MHRA's consultation letter...

Focus on health, says AAH.(AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The stock carried by pharmacies should reflect the healthcare focus in the new pharmacy contract, AAH has said. Pharmacists must maximise the return on their limited shelf space by only stocking the products specific to healthcare and that...

Independent pahrmacy's share is decreasing.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... * Consumers are spending more on healthcare year-on-year but independent pharmacy's share is decreasing, according to a Reckitt Benckiser article on Nucare's website. The average healthcare spend in 2004 was #19 per person but only 16 per...

Product withdrawal.(Crookes Healthcare Ltd withdraws Nurofen Back Pain Heat Patches)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Crookes Healthcare Ltd launched the new Nurofen Back Pain Heat Patches in August 2004 as an addition to the Nurofen analgesic range. We have been made aware of a few cases of people experiencing adverse skin reactions, similar to sunburn, when...

GMC reviews revalidation scheme.(General Medical Council)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Government is to review the General Medical Council's proposed new system of revalidation for doctors in light of the latest Shipman Inquiry report. The review will include the role of NHS appraisal and the GMC's arrangements for...

Eldon staff leap to Quantum.(former Eldon Laboratories staff forms new organization)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Four former Eldon Laboratories managers are launching a specials manufacturing company. Former Eldon manufacturing manager Andy Patterson, senior pharmacist Alison Norman, sales and marketing manager Phil Richardson and IT manager Ian Edge...

Study triggers coxib advice.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued advice on all Cox-2 inhibitors following a study showing celecoxib patients to be at higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Patients taking celecoxib (Celebrex), valdecoxib...

PAGB PERSPECTIVE: Doing away with the silent witness.(Proprietary Association of Great Britain, Over The Counter Drugs)
January 8, 2005... Is it time to allow health professionals to endorse products in OTC advertising, asks Sheila Kelly, executive director at the Proprietary Association of Great Britain Tis the week after Christmas and all through the land weary pharmacists...

All-inclusive place.(Norfolk pharmacist Gill Mott awarded)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Norfolk pharmacist Gill Mott has won an all-inclusive place at Numark's convention taking place in Mauritius at the start of February. The trip was first prize in a draw held by Numark in conjunction with Radox. Gill, who has been a Numark...

Dulco-lax 50s.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Boehringer Ingelheim has applied to the MHRA to raise the pack size of GSL Dulco-lax (bisacodyl 5mg) Tablets from 20 to 50 for the short-term relief of constipation. The company says Dulco-lax Tablets have been marketed for constipation...

NI health review.(Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... An independent assessment of health and social care provision in Northern Ireland will take place this year. Conducted by King's Fund chief economist Professor John Appleby, the review will consider whether resources are being used effectively...

#3m to fight fat.(UK Department of Health aid for obesity prevention)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Department of Health is making an extra #3 million available for training health professionals in obesity prevention and management. The money will be sent to public health leads in the nine regions in England, with funding targeted at PCTs...

Generic Rxs 78pc.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The average rate of generic prescribing in England has reached 78 per cent, health minister Rosie Winterton has said. In her response to a written question put by Liberal Democrat health secretary Paul Burstow, Ms Winterton said some PCTs...

Lancet editor calls for ongoing drug reviews.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... All drugs should be subject to ongoing five-yearly reviews, the editor of The Lancet has told MPs. The reviews would keep prescribers abreast of which drugs were most effective and would "clear out all the dross", Richard Horton told a...

DoH gives #900k to regulate CAM.(complementary and alternative medicine )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Department of Health has given #900,000 to The Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health to improve the regulation of complementary and alternative healthcare. The three-year funding will support the Foundation in setting up...

30 years of business.(Freeman's Homoeopathic Pharmacy )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Freeman's Homoeopathic Pharmacy celebrated 30 years of business last month with an extension to its existing premises in Glasgow. A dedicated homoeopathic dispensing and consulting suite, built for an undisclosed amount, was opened by David...

Comment from the Editor.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The start of this New Year has been overshadowed by the tragedy that has blighted the coastline communities around the Indian Ocean. Events there have shocked the world but they have also engendered a global community spirit, demonstrated by...

OPINION.
January 8, 2005... Our question to pharmacists this week was: Which of the following will you give up in the New Year? "Overeating, because I ate too much chocolate over Christmas" Helen Yeeles, Newcastle-upon-Tyne "Overeating, because I really...

YOUR VIEWS: Consistency is vital in epilepsy.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Philip Lee of Epilepsy Action warns against the switching of drugs We are all aware that prescribing the cheapest and most readily available drugs is actively encouraged, but new research indicates that consistency of supply in...

NORTHERN IRELAND NOTEBOOK: We've been had.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Pharmaceutical Contractors' Committee is doing an excellent job so far in negotiating our new contract. Along the lines of that secured in England and outlined in the Northern Ireland Framework, a new contract will secure our businesses and...

Diamorphine shortage is an avoidable problem.
January 8, 2005... I always breathe a huge sigh of relief when the Christmas madness is over and done with. Although I count myself lucky this year to have avoided the additional stress of rota duties. Always unpredictable, these one hour slots can either make...

Contemplating a move north.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... As there seems little point in making half-hearted New Year's resolutions, I'm considering something serious. I think I would like to move to Scotland. OK, the weather's not great, but property is cheap and it seems like the best place to be a...

PHARMACY UPDATE: Just in case.
January 8, 2005... Mary Allen FRPharmS describes case studies in which anticipatory drugs are prescribed in terminal care Objectives * To know what drugs might be used in palliative care * To be aware of the doses used * To appreciate the...

Benzoyl peroxide is best for acne.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Benzoyl peroxide lotion is as effective as prescription oral antibiotics in treating mild to moderate acne, claim UK researchers. Modified release minocycline, the most expensive treatment, was found not to be superior to the other...

Glucophage SR.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Merck Pharmaceuticals will launch Glucophage SR 500mg, a prolonged release metformin formulation to be taken once daily. Glucophage SR will be available in two blister pack sizes of 28 and 56 tablets. The normal starting dose is 500mg once...

Movicol change.(Movicol Paediatric licensed to treat constipation in children )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Movicol Paediatric Plain is now licensed to treat constipation in children two years old and above, Norgine has announced. Initial dosage is one sachet per day for children aged two to six years and two sachets per day for children aged...

SMA Staydown.(SMA Nutrition)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... SMA Staydown has been approved by the Advisory Committee for Borderline Substances for reimbursement on prescription. SMA Staydown has received ACBS approval for treating infants with significant reflux disease for a treatment period not...

Put your tongue out to Aquafresh.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The Aquafresh Tooth & Tongue toothbrush is making its TV debut in the UK with a #1 million national campaign. On air for a month until early February, the commercial features a young woman and a little boy who sticks out his tongue. ...

Pharmaton adds fizz to sales.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Boehringer Ingelheim is launching Pharmaton effervescent tablets for consumers with hectic and stressful lives. Pharmaton Activit G is a refreshing and rehydrating orange drink that comes in a fizzy-tab form. It contains ginseng G115...

Breaking news from Pantene.(Procter & Gamble introduces anti breakage conditioner shampoo)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Procter & Gamble is introducing an `anti breakage' line into its Pantene Pro-V range. The Pantene Anti Breakage range is specially designed to protect the hair. P&G says nearly two thirds of the UK population believe their hair to be...

Zocor Heart-Pro now on TV.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... A television campaign for Zocor Heart-Pro (simvastatin 10mg) hit the airwaves during the Christmas break. This is the first television advert to show a medicine that can reduce the risk of a heart attack. There are two versions of the...

Haliborange Omega-3 campaign.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Seven Seas is starting the new year with its biggest ever communications programme for Haliborange Omega-3. The #2.5 million campaign builds on the success of 2004 with heavyweight television advertising. The `Fintastic' adverts use...

Elastoplast strikes silver.(Beiersdorf UK Ltd. launches a range of plasters and bandages)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Beiersdorf is launching a range of plasters and dressings designed to reduce the risk of wound infection. Adapted from hospital dressings used to treat acute wounds, Elastoplast Silverhealing plasters and dressings contain metallic silver...

Multibionta back on TV.(Seven Seas Healthcare campaign)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The second phase of the #3.5 million television advertising for Advanced Formula Multibionta hit the airwaves this week. Seven Seas says the autumn airing of the advert was highly successful. This time round the advert will run until March...

Head & Shoulders makes waves with Ocean Energy.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Procter & Gamble is adding a sea mineral variant shampoo to its Head and Shoulders range on January 15. Head & Shoulders Ocean Energy anti dandruff shampoo contains Dead Sea salt, seaweed and kelp extracts. It has a lightweight formula...

`Soothahero' sells Soothagel.(G.R. Lane Health Products Ltd. advertising)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... GR Lane is spending #700,000 promoting its new acquisition, the protective gel for mouth ulcers, Soothagel. Television advertising runs until February 14 on GMTV and uses a cartoon superhero format. A five-week national press advertising...

INSIGHT: Vital statistics.
January 8, 2005... Too much festive feasting may have left you wondering how healthy you really are. Numark helped answer that question for the C&D team when it offered to screen 15 of us and demonstrate its Coronary Heart Check programme It was Numark which...

National Pharmaceutical Association - Appointments.(Raj Nutan )(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The National Pharmaceutical Association has named Raj Nutan as pharmacy business manager. A community pharmacist with a clinical pharmacy postgraduate diploma and an MBA, Mr Nutan's most recent position was regional professional development...

DoH - Appointments.(UK Department of Health)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The DoH has appointed three non-executive members to the Prescription Pricing Authority, effective for three years from January 1. These are: Dr James Stockwell, an interim business case manager at the Department for Constitutional Affairs; Dr...

Mawdsleys - Appointment.(Karen Birchall)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Karen Birchall has been named Mawdsleys operations director. Ms Birchall has joined the pharmaceutical wholesaler from UniChem where she worked for 19 years, most recently as regional operations manager for North East England. Her...

Penn Pharmaceutical Services - Appointment.(Rob Jones, David Spillett and Garth Simpson appointed)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Penn Pharmaceutical Services has boosted its clinical supplies unit and business development team with three appointments. Rob Jones has joined as business development manager from medical device specialist Sauflon Pharmaceuticals, and David...

High hopes for 2005.(new year resolution)
January 8, 2005... Doing more exercise, giving up smoking, eating fewer cakes - what will your new year's resolution be? For anyone needing inspiration, a few of pharmacy's leading lights have told C&D what they hope to achieve in 2005. Last year's public...

Pharmacy Travel prize winners.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Medicines counter assistant Harshila Patel, won an unexpected Christmas present when her name came out of the hat as winner of our November Pharmacy Travel prize draw. Harshila, who works at Weston Pharmacy, Plaistow in London E13, was...

DoH signs off MUR forms.(Department of Health, medicines use reviews)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The Department of Health has agreed the paperwork pharmacists will need to complete to provide advanced services under the new pharmacy contract. The form, available on the DoH's website, will be used in both medicines use reviews and...

MHRA issues insulin pen warning.(Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The MHRA is warning pharmacists of a potential problem with Aventis' Optipen Pro insulin pen system that may lead patients to take an extra dose of insulin. Sanofi-Aventis UK has told the MHRA that the dosage button may not lock when...

NI pharmacy contract talks move on to funding.(Northern Ireland, Pharmaceutical Contractors' Committee)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Funding of Northern Ireland's new pharmacy contract will now take priority following last week's announcement that contractors had voted in favour of the proposed contract framework. Terry Hannawin, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical...

Knockout 2004 winner.(Margaret March)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... At last the points have been totted up and the winner of Pharmacy Update Knockout 2004 and the #2,000 first prize is Margaret March of Weston-Super-Mare. After 12 months' hard work (equating to 34 hours of continuing education credits) and...

BOC to defer oxygen rental demand.(BOC Group PLC)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... BOC has agreed to defer until April 1 its proposal to charge community pharmacists rental on oxygen cylinders following a meeting with PSNC. BOC will also defer its settlement proposal for missing cylinders until the same date. The company...

Rifampicin scripts.(no cheaper stock obtainable)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The Department of Health and the National Assembly for Wales have agreed to allow NCSO (no cheaper stock obtainable) endorsements for rifampicin 300mg capsules for January 2005 prescriptions. In addition, the DoH has extended the NCSO...

Aid from Lloyds.(Lloydspharmacy)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Lloydspharmacy has pledged #50,000 to tsunami relief agencies - #30,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee and #20,00 to Merlin, a British charity providing international medical relief. In addition, collections and fundraising activities...

Pictorial legacy of Aberystwyth.(Gwyn Martin)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Pharmacist and photographer Gwyn Martin's pictorial legacy of Aberystwyth has been published in a book, A stroll along the harbour, with the profits going to the Aberystwyth Lifeboat. Mr Martin's son and daughter recently discovered prints...

VMD consults formally on vet medicines controls.
January 15, 2005... The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is consulting formally on proposed legislation controlling veterinary medicines. There will be four categories of veterinary medicines, as suggested in an earlier, informal concept document (C&D,...

PD pharmacists.(Primary Care Trust )(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Brighton & Hove City Teaching PCT has launched a community pharmacist led support service for patients with Parkinson's disease. The service, which is being evaluated, will run at five community pharmacies over the next nine months. It...

Walk-ins to open.(Medical centers)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Walk-in centres for commuters are to open at train stations in four London locations and in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. The centres, which will open in the spring, will offer 12-hour, no appointment access to a GP, prescription and...

e-BAPW goes live.(British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers launched e-bulletin)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers has launched a quarterly e-bulletin to update MPs and other industry stakeholders on issues surrounding medicines and pharmaceutical wholesale, as well as forthcoming events. The BAPW also...

Clinical trials to be published.(Media coverage)
January 15, 2005... An initiative to establish a global register of clinical trials on new Prescription Only Medicines has been launched by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Regardless of the outcome, results of all...

Health minister announces fraud saving of #7m.(Dr Brian Gibbons )(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Newly appointed Welsh health minister Dr Brian Gibbons has announced Wales's NHS has benefited from a #7.6 million reduction in fraud in 2003-04. Investigations by the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service have resulted in over...

UK robot market expands.(United Kingdom)
January 15, 2005... Two new entrants to the UK's market for pharmacy robots are set to challenge the monopoly of the current market leader. Siemens Logistics & Assembly Systems and RoboPharma have both launched dispensary robots in a bid to challenge the...

Canadian e-pharmacies seek UK base.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Canadian internet pharmacies considering setting up `virtual shop' in the UK would be able to gain automatically a pharmacy contract under the wholly mail order/internet pharmacy exemption to the new control of entry regulations. However,...

Sigma makes Europe's 500.(Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Sigma Pharmaceuticals has been listed 388th fastest growing company in Europe. The wholesaler was named in the 2004 Europe's 500, an annual listing published by Europe's Entrepreneurs for Growth, and endorsed by 3i, Microsoft and...

Pharmaceutical firms donate over #20 million in tsunami aid.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Pharmaceutical companies have donated over #20 million in cash and medicines to those affected by the South Asia tsunami. These include: * Pfizer - #5.3 million cash; #13.3m of medicines, mostly anti- infectives; logistical support to...

Pharmacists' interventions save PCT #58k.(Primary Care Trust )
January 15, 2005... A pharmacy intervention scheme in West Cumbria has saved the PCT #58,361 and earned the pharmacists involved a total of #9,877 in payments. Pharmacists in the scheme, set up in May 2003, had made interventions which have saved #68,238 in...

Zydol returns.(Grunenthal GmbH has taken over the marketing of the analgesic )
January 15, 2005... Grunenthal, the firm responsible for the synthesis of tramadol (Zydol) in 1962, has taken over the marketing of the analgesic from Pfizer. The name will remain the same but the packaging will be changed to carry Grunenthal's livery. For...

Funding help.(Data Techniques Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Two free guides to help small businesses improve their chances of raising funding have been launched by the DTI's Business Link service. The No Nonsense Guide to Small Business Funding and the No Nonsense Guide to Finance for High-Growth...

Scotland gets PCB.(Pharmacy Consultative Boards )(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... UniChem has re-structured its Pharmacy Consultative Boards (PCBs) to include a Scottish board and appointed James Allen as its chairman. The new structure will comprise four PCBs: the North, the Midlands and Wales, the South, and Scotland. In...

#50k awards.(Pharmacy Practice Research Trust, The Galen Award and Sir Hugh Linstead Fellowship)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust is inviting applications for the 2005 practice research awards. The Galen Award, worth #10,000, and the Sir Hugh Linstead Fellowship, worth #40,000, aim to build research capacity in pharmacy practice....

NI consultation.(Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... An e-consultation on drug and alcohol strategies has been launched by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) in Northern Ireland. More information at:...