Healthcare informatics

Health and climate manifesto launched by RPS and RCGP Scotland

The manifesto has made six calls upon the next Scottish government, including an urgent acceleration of the electronic prescribing programme.…

ADHD prescriptions rise by 5% in three months

Data from NHS Business Services Authority show that from July to September 2025, almost 300,000 patients were prescribed medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.…

Community pharmacists should be able to amend prescriptions, says RPS

In response to a government consultation on offering greater dispensing flexibilities for community pharmacists, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society noted that pharmacists in Scotland can already do this without comparative increases in prescribing costs.…

Reviewing prescribing practice in an adult critical care unit with a newly implemented electronic prescribing system

Following the publication of the BLING III study, it is anticipated that adult critical care (ACC) units may adopt continuous infusions of antimicrobials for critically unwell adults1. While practical considerations for implementing this practice have previously been considered, it is essential that…

Electronic patient records pose risk to safety, watchdog warns

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body said that electronic patient records contributed to patient safety incidents when they lacked necessary functions and displayed inconsistencies in terms used.…

Health news round-up: new biosimilars, vaccine effectiveness and supporting patients ageing with HIV

A weekly summary of important developments in health news that you may have missed.…

Extra funding announced for community pharmacy independent prescribing

Scottish community pharmacies that employ an independent prescribing pharmacist will also be able to claim for Pharmacy First Plus services without meeting the 25 hours per week availability threshold.…

An increased focus on calculation competency as a regulatory requirement has never been more critical

A senior lecturer in pharmacy at Kingston University discusses the importance of pharmacy students being able to demonstrate calculations competence before joining the General Pharmaceutical Council prescriber register.…

Developing clinical practice through 50 years of a drug information network

Now is the time for the profession to celebrate the contributions to the development of clinical pharmacy, which followed the first meeting of regional drug information (DI) pharmacists 50 years ago on 28 November 1975 in Bristol. It quickly established the structure for a developing UK-wide DI netw…

‘Record number’ of prescriptions dispensed in England in 2024/2025 despite reduction in number of pharmacies

Data from the NHS Business Services Authority show that 2024/2025 was the fourth consecutive year that the number of prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies in England has risen.…