News | Medicines safety

News

Pharmacists cut medication errors and costs on diabetes and endocrinology wards, study results show

The number of reported medication incidents decreased by 100% during the eight-week study period.…

Published: 16 May 2025

News

SABA inhaler carbon emissions have dropped by one-third since 2020, NHS England data show

Exclusive: Pharmacy experts said the fall in short-acting beta-2 agonist inhaler emissions most likely owes to patients switching from the Ventolin Evohaler to the Salamol inhaler.…

Published: 14 May 2025

News

Repeat prescription opioids most commonly linked to patient harm and deaths, study results show

Researchers found that between January 2019 and December 2023, opioid analgesics made up 76% of the medications mentioned in coroners’ prevention of future deaths reports.…

Published: 6 May 2025

Opinion

Medicines optimisation teams need to showcase their value to withstand ICB funding cuts

With integrated care boards soon to have lost 65% of their funding over two years, now is the time for medicines optimisation teams to ‘be noisy’ about their work.…

Published: 1 May 2025

News

MHRA to review blood monitoring requirements for clozapine patients

Starting in summer 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will seek views on ways to improve awareness of patient risks related to clozapine.…

Published: 28 April 2025

News

Regulators issue warning over prescription-only weight-loss drug advertisements

An enforcement notice has warned that prohibitions include non paid-for content on social media, sponsored searches on search engines and influencer marketing.…

Published: 16 April 2025

News

Regulator warns pharmacists to ensure patient safety when selling unregulated products

In a letter to pharmacy technicians and owners, the General Pharmaceutical Council has warned that non-medicinal and unlicensed products being supplied by pharmacies “have potentially caused serious harm”.…

Published: 15 April 2025

News

‘Serious gap’ in safe access to medicines for people with sensory impairment, report finds

In a report, the patient safety commissioner for England recommends a funding review to support additional resources to improve access to medicines for those with sensory impairments.…

Published: 9 April 2025

News

Patients in emergency departments should be supported to self-administer time-critical medicines, says royal college

Advice produced with the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association urges that emergency departments should hold self-administered time-critical medicines to the same monitoring and governance oversight standards as non self-administered medicines.…

Published: 7 April 2025

News

Genetic testing could prevent three-quarters of avoidable side effects of some medicines, study suggests

Researchers found that patients experiencing adverse drug reactions to treatments for psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular problems could benefit the most from personalised prescribing with pharmacogenomics.…

Published: 1 April 2025