PJ, June 2020, Vol 304, No 7938

Clarithromycin linked to increased haemorrhage risk in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants

Older adults taking direct oral anticoagulants are more likely to be admitted to hospital for haemorrhage after receiving clarithromycin compared with azithromycin, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has suggested.…

Investigational treatments for COVID-19

A review of several of the treatments for COVID-19 currently being trialled.…

Blue, brown and now green

The ‘NHS long-term plan’ has called for a shift towards inhalers with a lower carbon footprint.…

We need a national de-labelling drive for patients with penicillin allergy

False penicillin allergies are placing patients at risk of resistant infections and are a threat to antimicrobial stewardship; we must safely de-label patients to avoid these costs to public health.…

How collaboration was key at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber

We were interested to read the article ‘The COVID-19 emergency hospitals: seizing the challenge’ in the May 2020 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal, and here we report how working together across the hospitals in our area allowed the NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber (NY…

Pharmacist-led medicines optimisation may reduce readmissions to hospital, study finds

Attending a pharmacist-led medicines optimisation clinic after hospital discharge could help to reduce patient readmissions, visits to A&E and unplanned GP consultations, a study published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy has found.…

What provisional registration will mean for the pharmacy profession

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced radical changes to how the 2020 class of preregistration trainees will transition into their careers.…

BAME patients less likely to take up community pharmacy services in North West London

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the interplay between ethnicity and poor health outcomes has rightly come under scrutiny. A high proportion of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19 were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. Pharmacy rarely features in investigations into thi…

Welsh government confirms £18m increase in community pharmacy funding over three years

Community pharmacies in Wales will receive an additional £18.3m over a three-year funding settlement with the Welsh government.…

Dexamethasone is ‘first drug’ to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19

Low-dose dexamethasone, a “widely available, safe and well-known drug”, is the first medicine to be shown to result in a “significant reduction in mortality” in those with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilation, researchers have said.…