PJ, September 2018, Vol 301, No 7917

The pharmacy regulator must take a role in ensuring minimum staffing levels if it is serious about patient safety

The pharmacy regulator should be involved in ensuring minimum staffing standards — and enforcing them where necessary — as part of its role in regulating pharmacy and protecting patient safety.…

Statins: the highs and the lows

Negative press seems to follow statins, the most prescribed drugs in England, despite them revolutionising cardiovascular disease prevention.…

Deaths: Barbara Jean Maude

On 19 September 2018, Barbara Jean Maude, aged 89 years, of Nuneaton. A former member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Mrs Maude began her career at Boots in Piccadilly Circus, central London, where she met her husband Cyril. The couple later moved to Nuneaton where Mrs Maude…

Why the 2018 flu season could be a major challenge for pharmacy

Despite the success pharmacy had in 2017 with offering influenza vaccination to people across the UK, winter 2018 is shaping up to be a difficult season, with different vaccines for different groups, staggered deliveries until December and guidance that makes patient prioritisation a problem.…

Improving and standardising the management of controlled drugs

Ensuring the safe and effective management of controlled drugs is an important role for pharmacists, particularly in secondary care.…

GPhC registration assessment result gap must be closed

There is still much work to do to reduce disparities in registration assessment results, but the General Pharmaceutical Council’s efforts should hopefully be a move in the right direction.…

The right ‘fit’: racial bias in pharmacy recruitment

Pharmacists provide their thoughts and advice to a colleague concerned about racial discrimination in the workplace.…

Body bionics: how the next generation of biosensors could revolutionise drug delivery

Smaller, smarter and more sensitive — how four new technologies could change the way drugs are monitored and administered.…

Pharmacy2U to open 7.5m-items-per-month dispensing facility

Online pharmacy Pharmacy2U is to open a new dispensing facility that will enable it to increase its dispensing capacity to 7.5 million items a month, more than 16 times its current capacity.…

Are patients the missing piece in the drug development puzzle?

Pharmaceutical companies are beginning to appreciate that involving patients in the drug development life cycle could save them millions of pounds. But are companies being brave enough when it comes to ‘patient centricity’?…