Medical conditions

Pharmacogenomic testing may aid antidepressant prescribing, study results show

Researchers found that patients with major depressive disorder whose treatment was guided by genetic testing were more likely to receive an antidepressant with no drug–gene interaction.…

Antidepressant prescribing increases by 35% in six years

Prescriptions of antidepressants rose by 5.1% in 2021/2022, the sixth consecutive annual increase.…

Prescribing of cannabis-based medical products increased almost ten-fold in 2021

Despite the increase in the private healthcare sector, data on the number of cannabis-based medical products prescribed on the NHS were so low they could not be reported.…

Medication restrictions for patients receiving CAR-T therapy

To assure the quality of CAR-T therapy and optimise the chances of successful treatment, pharmacists caring for CAR-T patients must be aware of the medication restrictions — prior to and following treatment — and their rationale.…

Developing the clinical pharmacy technician role for mental health triaging

NHS England & NHS Improvement are building on the 'NHS long-term plan', focusing on the mental health provision within mental health services. Against this context, we wanted to improve the therapeutic inpatient mental health care within our service by developing a clinical pharmacy technic…

Long-term opioid prescribing rates rose by almost a third during the COVID-19 pandemic

Exclusive: "Worrying" NHS data show a dramatic escalation in the number of patients prescribed opioids for longer than three months.…

Renal cancer: management

An overview of the most common forms of renal cancer, treatment options and the role of pharmacists in its management.…

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Community pharmacies in England carry out more than 110,000 blood pressure checks in six months

Community pharmacies also provided ambulatory blood pressure monitoring to nearly 5,000 patients.…

NICE to approve icosapent ethyl for some high-risk cardiovascular patients

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says 425,000 people with established cardiovascular disease could benefit from treatment with icosapent ethyl.…

More than a quarter of patients overusing rescue inhalers for asthma, study finds

Researchers from Queen Mary University London warned that salbutamol inhalers can increase risk of anxiety and tachycardia.…