News | Medicines safety

News

Pharmacists could safely assess mislabelled penicillin allergy, study results suggest

Pharmacists and other non-allergy specialist healthcare professionals assessed 97% of trial participants as having no penicillin allergy.…

Published: 20 March 2024

News

Drug-related deaths in Scotland rose by 10% in 2023

Experts say the increase can be linked to the emergence of new synthetic opioids and the change in the benzodiazepine market from etizolam to bromazolam.…

Published: 14 March 2024

Opinion

How the London Ambulance Service is working to transform medicines management

A pharmacist-led medicines modernisation programme has transformed the way drugs are stored, tracked and accessed by clinicians at London Ambulance Service.…

Published: 13 March 2024

Letter

Pharmacy First is a step too far unless staffing issues are addressed

I have never felt the need to express my frustrations with our profession so strongly. Over the past ten years or so, we have just had more and more dumped on us. We are dispensing more prescriptions than ever and yet staff have been reduced to dangerously low levels everywhere owing to the increasi…

Published: 6 March 2024

News

MHRA reviewing safety of asthma drug as Yellow Card reports increase

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is reviewing montelukast after there were 143 reports of psychiatric disorders associated with the drug in 2023.…

Published: 5 March 2024

News

Almost 40% of older adults with polypharmacy given inappropriate prescription when starting treatment for type 2 diabetes, study finds

In older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus but no polypharmacy, 6.5% of patients were given a potentially inappropriate prescription.…

Published: 4 March 2024

News

UK regulator recommends new safety measures for medicines containing pseudoephedrine

Safety information for all medicines containing pseudoephedrine will be updated to make clear the risk of rare, but serious, side effects.…

Published: 21 February 2024

News

Codeine linctus to be reclassified as a prescription-only medicine

While codeine linctus is effective for long-term dry cough, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said “misuse and abuse can have major health consequences”.…

Published: 20 February 2024

Feature

Changing the culture of fluoroquinolone prescribing

Despite repeated warnings about disabling and irreversible side effects from fluoroquinolones, prescribing of these broad-spectrum antibiotics remains “stubbornly stable”.…

Published: 15 February 2024

News

DOACs to be analysed as part of genetic biobank scheme

Patients who report adverse effects from direct oral anticoagulants to the Yellow Card scheme may be contacted to provide a blood sample, from which data will then be added to a biobank for researchers to analyse.…

Published: 13 February 2024