Healthcare provision

NHS could introduce performers list for independent prescribing pharmacists

A performers list for pharmacist prescribers would be in line with similar lists held for doctors and dentists.…

Electronic prescribing system cuts dispensing errors by almost half in one trust

Exclusive: As a result of implementing an electronic prescribing and medicines administration system, East London NHS Foundation Trust reduced dispensing errors by 45% and saved more than £900,000 per year.…

‘Competing priorities’: why is the rollout of e-prescribing taking so long?

The rollout of electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems is taking twice as long as expected in some areas, raising concerns that the resulting ‘hybrid’ systems are creating additional risks to patient safety.…

‘Thousands’ of pharmacies at risk of closure without additional government funding, warns report

Authors of a report on NHS community pharmacy have warned that the sector is facing an "economic crisis".…

Government shelves plan for ‘Pharmacy First’ service in England

The delayed agreement for the remaining two years of the 'Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework' confirms an excess margin write-off, meaning pharmacies will keep £100m they would otherwise have had to repay.…

Migraine and epilepsy drugs promoted to under-18s as weight-loss aids on TikTok

Exclusive: Social media platform removes posts after investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal reveals that prescription-only drugs are being recommended to teenagers wanting to lose weight.…

David Webb: ‘It is time to step away from historic rivalries and focus on patients’

In his first pharmacy press interview as chief pharmaceutical officer for England, David Webb tells The Pharmaceutical Journal his ambitions for the profession.…

Community pharmacy in Wales promised 4% funding uplift conditional on staff pay rises 

The uplift will increase annual community pharmacy contractual framework funding to £157.2m.…

NHS education body to fund supervisors for independent prescriber training pilots

Exclusive: A letter seen by The Pharmaceutical Journal confirms that Health Education England has agreed regional funding of £56,000 for each designated prescribing practitioner working as part of the teach and treat pilots.…

Patients in most deprived areas are 50% more likely to be prescribed dependency-forming drugs, finds NHS report 

In 2021/2022, 1.80 million patients were prescribed dependency-forming medicines, such as opioids and gabapentinoids, in England's most deprived areas, 1.66 times more than the 1.09 million in the least deprived areas.…