PJ, 3/10 January 2015, Vol 294, No 7843/4

Alcohol and substance misuse

As part of the Health and Social Care Committee inquiry into alcohol and substance misuse in Wales, the Committee will consider the following areas: The impacts of alcohol and substance misuse on people in Wales, including young people and university students, older people, ho…

Liver disease delivery plan

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on a draft Liver Disease Delivery Plan. This document is one of a suite of national service delivery plans, designed to develop and improve services for people with liver disease. It requires NHS Wales and its partners to: Car…

Chemoprevention with tamoxifen cuts risk of breast cancer by almost 30%

Tamoxifen used in primary prevention cuts the risk of breast cancer by around 30% and this benefit lasts for at least 20 years, a long-term follow-up of the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study shows.…

Qualified person: Angela Hallam

Angela Hallam, MRPharmS, clinical trials and regulatory affairs pharmacist and strategic lead for clinical trials, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, was added to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Qualified Person (QP) register on 9 December 2014. Having successfully passed the Jo…

Robert Dewar dies

On 8 November, Robert Dewar MPharmS, aged 71, of 5 Mclarens Park,  Gargunnock, Stirling F K8 3DG. Mr Dewar  registered with the Society in 1965.…

Tuesday 13 January: SW London

Local practice forum event, ‘Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education diabetes focal point’. Postgraduate Centre, Croydon University Hospital, 530 London Road, Croydon, Surrey CR7 7YE. Event 7.30pm, buffet 7pm. Email yourpesl@gmail.com to book.…

Text messages can help patients adhere to their medicines

A third of patients prescribed blood pressure or lipid-lowering drugs to prevent coronary heart disease or stroke fail to take their medicines properly, but text messages could improve adherence.…

The deep-fried Mars bar: an illustration of a bad diet?

After analysing a small study in healthy young adults, which found that eating deep-fried Mars bar caused a significant impairment in cerebrovascular reactivity in men, Pam Mason advises sticking to porridge for breakfast.…

A rethink is needed about how medicines-related IT systems should work

Current initiatives to roll out patient record access to pharmacy provide insufficient patient information, and lack functionalities to ensure safe and efficient provision of services to patients. Moreover, access to these records have been patchy and wider access is needed, writes Andrew Davies.…

Smoking cessation – the Nazi method

Not renowned for its public health measures, Nazi Germany led the first anti-smoking campaign in modern history and was the most powerful anti-smoking movement in the world during the 1930s and early 1940s.…