NHS

Apps for treatment of anxiety and depression in adults provisionally approved by NICE

The eight digital therapies include treatments for body dysmorphic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.…

Union ballots pharmacists in Northern Ireland on strike action for the first time 

Members of the Pharmacists' Defence Association in Northern Ireland will be balloted on strike action over pay, after 94% of survey respondents called for a strike over the government's proposed 2022/2023 pay award.…

Campaign to encourage pharmacy use ‘irresponsible and extremely unhelpful’, says negotiator

NHS England's 'Help Us Help You' campaign will use film themes to encourage people to visit community pharmacies for minor illnesses.…

Health Education England to fund extra 3,000 places on pharmacist prescribing training courses

Applications are open to pharmacists in all sectors and should be made directly to the institution holding the course.…

Hormone replacement therapy pre-payment scheme is too ‘complex’, say pharmacy leaders

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said the new system is "complex" and will not work well with current prescription and pricing systems, creating more work for pharmacy contractors.…

NICE alters guidance on COVID-19 treatments as manufacturer withdraws marketing authorisation application 

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence said the guidance has changed because Eli Lily is no longer seeking a marketing authorisation for baricitinib (Olumiant).…

UTIs can be diagnosed without a dipstick test, says NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has said women aged under 65 years can be diagnosed with urinary tract infection if they have two or more key urinary symptoms and no other excluding causes or warning signs.…

Rising number of drug price concessions imposed on pharmacies by the government

Exclusive: Pharmacy bodies say the concession system is "broken" and warrants an "urgent short-term solution and more fundamental long-term reform".…

Half of pharmacists report increase in patients unable to afford prescription medicines, reveals survey

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society survey of 269 pharmacists in England also revealed an increasing number of people are not collecting their prescriptions.…

Supermarket branches at risk of closure could shift 1 million extra prescriptions per month to nearby pharmacies

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS data show that supermarket-based pharmacies at risk of closure dispensed a total of 984,246 prescriptions in the month of October 2022.…