Medicines regulator introduces age restrictions on OTC laxatives following safety review Over-the-counter laxatives for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years can now only be supplied under the supervision of a pharmacist, following the results of a review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.…
Diabetes: mental health considerations in adults Pharmacists can contribute to the psychological and emotional wellbeing of people living with diabetes by helping to identify those who have mental wellbeing needs, optimising treatment and minimising risk factors.…
RPS calls for further legislation changes allowing pharmacists to alter prescriptions during shortages In a letter to The Times, the president of the RPS argues that community pharmacists should have more room for manoeuvre when a medicine is out of stock.…
Interchangeability of biosimilars: a global perspective for pharmacists The first innovator biologic drug was introduced around 40 years ago in the early 1980s. This article provides pharmacists with an overview of the pivotal concepts of biosimilar interchangeability with innovator biologics.…
Reducing asthma medication does not worsen outcomes but could save money, study suggests Stepping down asthma medication does not adversely affect patient outcomes and could save millions of pounds in medicines costs, a study in PLoS Medicine has found.…
Vitamin D may protect against colitis adverse events in patients taking immune checkpoint inhibitors People with melanoma who take immune checkpoint inhibitors are less likely to develop colitis if they are taking vitamin D supplements at treatment initiation, a study published in the journal Cancer has suggested…
We always used to put returned medicines to good use if it was appropriateI appreciated the article ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the government to allow medicines reuse: we must not waste this opportunity to counter our throwaway culture’ in the June 2020 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal. When I started work in retail pharmacy back in 1962, it wa…
Inhaler recycling scheme that cut carbon emissions equivalent to more than 8,500 cars is scrapped A scheme to recycle respiratory inhalers, which has cut carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking around 8,600 cars off UK roads, is ending.…
Blue, brown and now green The ‘NHS long-term plan’ has called for a shift towards inhalers with a lower carbon footprint.…
Withdrawal and preventive therapy best management for medication overuse headache Medication overuse headache is best treated with a combination of analgesic withdrawal and pharmaceutical prophylaxis, the authors of a study in JAMA Neurology have said.…
