PJ, 12 September 2015, Vol 295, No 7879

We need more industry QPs

The demand for Qualified Persons (QPs) is growing. More QPs are retiring than are qualifying. Before retiring, my colourful portfolio as a QP included assessing the quality of medicines for Atlantic salmon, sheep, goats and rabbits, and investigational medicinal products. Specialised training,…

Take your medicine with snakes

Recently I received a prescription for Creon capsules and the dose was take two with meals and one with snakes. When a family member of the patient picked up the medicine I pointed out that the patient must have a strange diet because I would have thought it should be one taken with snacks rather th…

Encouraging pharmaceutical innovation must come first

The ‘de-listing’ of certain treatments from the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund was inevitable with budgets becoming tighter but innovation in drug development must not suffer.…

Patient access to medical records: proceed with caution

There are a number of practical issues to consider if patients are to be given full access to their own medical records.…

Hormonal contraceptives combined with genital infections alter immunity to HIV-1

When women had genital tract infections, different forms of hormonal contraception affected immune markers involved in acquisition of HIV.…

Stopping antihypertensives does not slow cognitive decline in older patients

In patients over 75 years, low blood pressure can worsen cognitive decline, but researchers found that stopping antihypertensives did not help.…

Asthma therapies get personal

A new crop of biologic drugs promises to usher asthma treatment into the realm of personalised medicine.…

Midday nappers have lower blood pressure levels and take fewer medications

Research examining the lifestyle habits of hypertensive patients in Greece has suggested that taking a nap can improve blood pressure.…

New effective medicines are of no use if they are unaffordable

In the United States, a campaign has been fighting for transparency in the pricing of specialty drugs.…

Full health record access for pharmacists ‘would reduce palliative care delays’

RPS Scotland says lack of records access for community pharmacists delays care and risks patient safety.…