Repeat prescription opioids most commonly linked to patient harm and deaths, study results show Researchers found that between January 2019 and December 2023, opioid analgesics made up 76% of the medications mentioned in coroners’ prevention of future deaths reports.…
Lost days: the unstemmed rise in mental health-related absences There has been a significant rise in sickness absence for mental health reasons among hospital pharmacists in England over the past five years. What needs to change and where can NHS pharmacists access help in the meantime?…
MHRA to review blood monitoring requirements for clozapine patients Starting in summer 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will seek views on ways to improve awareness of patient risks related to clozapine.…
Coroner writes to ICB following death of patient who took too many of their prescribed drugs The ‘Prevention of future deaths’ report, published on 16 April 2025, was issued following the death of patient who was waiting for mental health support.…
NICE recommends cladribine for treating active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis Cladribine (Mavenclad; Merck) is recommended for treating active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in adults when high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies would be offered.…
Stimulant and non-stimulant agents for ADHD This medication guide details the different types of treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for both adults and children.…
Antidepressants added to PCN structured medication review list From 2025/2026, primary care networks are required to include people using antidepressants for structured medication reviews as part of medicines optimisation processes for “high-risk cohorts”.…
Patients in emergency departments should be supported to self-administer time-critical medicines, says royal college Advice produced with the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association urges that emergency departments should hold self-administered time-critical medicines to the same monitoring and governance oversight standards as non self-administered medicines.…
Alzheimer’s treatments donanemab and lecanemab still not recommended under latest NICE draft guidance NICE says that the cost of implementing donanemab and lecanemab across the NHS is “significantly higher” than considered acceptable for taxpayers’ money and NHS resources.…
SIGN rejects opioids and medicinal cannabis for chronic pain in draft guidance Draft guidance on management of chronic pain included medicinal cannabis for the first time, not recommending it on the basis of limited clinical evidence and consistent evidence of adverse effects.…
