News | Polypharmacy

News

Structured medication reviews should last at least 30 minutes, confirms NHS lead

Speaking at the Primary Care Pharmacy Association conference, Tony Avery said it was important that structured medication reviews are maintained in terms of quality, including the time allocated.…

Published: 9 June 2022

News

NHS lead to investigate pharmacists being given just ten minutes for medication reviews

Pharmacists say that quantity is being favoured over quality after primary care networks were offered financial incentives of around £16,400 to review high-risk patients.…

Published: 19 May 2022

News

Survey reveals 85% of hospital trusts report problems with medication compliance aids

The questionnaire was distributed by the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service to chief pharmacists at every acute trust in England.…

Published: 9 May 2022

News

NICE has ‘failed to listen to patient evidence’ on prescription drug withdrawal, claims parliamentary group

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence has criticised the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on its new guidance on tapered withdrawal of dependency-forming drugs.…

Published: 21 April 2022

News

More than 1,000 patients stopped taking antidepressants after introduction of local deprescribing guidelines

Exclusive: Guidelines published in 2021 have helped Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group move from having the fifth highest antidepressant prescribing rate in the country to the eighth highest.…

Published: 28 March 2022

News

NHS England appoints first clinical director for prescribing

Tony Avery, professor of primary healthcare at the University of Nottingham, and his team developed the PINCER project to tackle hazardous prescribing.…

Published: 18 March 2022

News

NHS Scotland tenders for £66m pharmacogenomics decision support service

Exclusive: The service will aim to use genomic data to improve the management of polypharmacy in primary and secondary care.…

Published: 1 March 2022

News

Prescribers should warn patients about dependence before starting them on high-risk drugs, says NICE

In its first guideline on medicines that can cause dependence or withdrawal symptoms, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended that prescribers warn patients about these risks and offer alternative treatment options before prescribing.…

Published: 22 October 2021

News

Major review estimates 10% of items dispensed in primary care are overprescribed

A government-commissioned review estimates that 15% of people are taking five or more medicines per day, putting them at increased risk of hospitalisation.…

Published: 22 September 2021

Feature

Antidepressant withdrawal: why has it been ignored for so long? (audio)

This podcast looks at the withdrawal symptoms that many patients experience when coming off antidepressants and what can be done to help.…

Published: 27 August 2021