Healthcare provision

Crossing borders and breaking barriers: why we need to truly value global contributions to pharmacy and healthcare

Principal pharmacist Rafia Jamil shares her journey as an “overseas pharmacist” and how her experience of equality, diversity and inclusion within pharmacy has been complex but hopeful.…

Brands help patients choose most appropriate OTC drugs

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a survey by consumer healthcare association PAGB said trust in a brand influenced their decision to buy over-the-counter medicines.…

Aspirin added to list of medicines that cannot be exported from UK or hoarded

The list contains medicines that have evidence or risk of critical shortages, which could adversely impact UK patients.…

Prescribing dilemma: high-cost biologics in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis  

This real-world dilemma explores how individual funding requests may need to be considered for patient-centred care in the case of high-cost biologics.…

Almost 90% of pharmacies report abuse from ineligible COVID-19 vaccination patients, survey reveals

The National Pharmacy Association survey of 450 pharmacies in England found that “at least half” of the average pharmacy's COVID-19 vaccination appointments were made by ineligible people.…

‘No evidence’ that paracetamol use during pregnancy causes autism, ADHD or intellectual disabilities, meta-analysis finds

Study authors noted that earlier meta-analyses suggested slight associations with paracetamol use during pregnancy and risk of autism and ADHD, but those findings were “often based on studies prone to biases”.…

NHS urges sector to take advantage of AI scribes

NHS England says ambient voice technologies could save clinicians two to three minutes for each patient by generating a transcript and clinical summary of consultations.…

Health news round-up: prescribing, deprescribing and medication considerations

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

Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists recommends ‘ring-fencing’ diamorphine stock amid supply issues

Medicine supply alerts sent in December 2025 and January 2026 have requested that prescribers switch to morphine sulphate 10mg/1mL injections, where possible.…

Reimburse business rates for pharmacies like GPs and dentists, says NPA

The National Pharmacy Association has told the government community pharmacies should be exempt from business rates to combat rising pharmacy closures and address funding gaps.…