Medical conditions

Rapid-acting antidepressants face a slow journey to wider use

Evidence is mounting for the effectiveness of rapid-acting antidepressants for treatment-resistant depression — but will their use ever take off in the NHS?…

Improving safety of warfarin prescribing and administration using clinical decision support

There are several benefits of electronic prescribing and medication administration (EPMA) systems, including the ability to support the reduction in medication omission errors​[1,2]​. Researchers suggest that medication administration errors account for ju…

Case-based learning: safe withdrawal and tapering of antidepressants

How to use hyperbolic tapering to avoid withdrawal effects when stopping an antidepressant.…

Improving asthma care for children and young people

Considerations for pharmacists in helping young patients manage their asthma.…

Shortage of scabies treatment ‘likely to become a major public health issue’

The government has issued a medicine supply notification warning that permethrin 5% w/w cream will be “in limited supply until further notice due to an increase in demand”.…

Every community pharmacy in Scotland to stock emergency supplies of naloxone from October 2023

The naloxone emergency supply service will be added to the community pharmacy public health service in Scotland from 30 October 2023.…

How we treated more than 100 hepatitis C patients at pharmacist-led clinics in North Wales

Prescribing pharmacist Elizabeth Hurry explains how her team developed an accelerated care pathway to test and treat “hard to reach” patients with hepatitis C.…

How to approach challenging scenarios in primary care pharmacy

Three examples of vulnerable patients and those at risk of harm. The featured scenarios consider themes of suicide, addiction and sexual violence.…

‘Blanket switch’ to greener inhalers not recommended in prescribing guidance

The Scottish government has published a consultation on draft guidance emphasising that patients should only be switched to greener inhalers “if effectiveness, safety or adherence is not compromised”.…

NICE recommends tirzepatide for type 2 diabetes in final draft guidance

Following additional analyses and modelling of clinical and cost effectiveness, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended tirzepatide for type 2 diabetes mellitus.…