Politics

How drug prices are hiked and what is being done to tackle the problem

There has been negative publicity in the national press about drug manufacturers increasing the price of some medicines significantly: so called ‘price gouging’. These increased prices are then passed on to the NHS, and lead to headlines quoting multi-million pound figures.…

Into the unknown: UK pharmacovigilance after Brexit

Julia Robinson reports from a meeting discussing the implications of Brexit on UK pharmacovigilance.…

Chief pharmaceutical officer of England ought to be congratulated

From Graham Phillips’s letter about his attendance at the ‘Quality for patients: pharmacy practice now and in the future’ conference ( The Pharmaceutical Journal 2017;298:234), I thought he was going to report on the conference but all he offered was…

US Senate confirms Scott Gottlieb as new FDA commissioner

Scott Gottlieb has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration in a Senate vote (of 57 to 42). The decision, confirmed on 9 May 2017, has not been without controversy, however, as Gottlieb has links to the pharmaceutical industry, where he has earned hundreds …

The time for action is now

The writing is on the wall or, to be more precise, the writing is in the ‘Five year forward view’, the Murray report and your local sustainability and transformation plans (STPs). Allow me to summarise: an ageing population, living longer, suffering from more long-term conditions m…

One true voice for pharmacy

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) must overtly support all sectors of our profession, address our issues and capitalise upon opportunities. There is confusion as to the role of a professional body. The RPS is not the regulator, negotiator or trade union. We have organisations fulfilling t…

What makes a good quality RPS pharmacy board member

Following my first full term I have been reflecting on my time as a Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) English Pharmacy Board member and the opportunities still to be realised.…

What to consider when casting your vote for the 2017 UK general election

We outline some of the issues pharmacists might like to consider before they cast their vote in the UK general election on 8 June 2017.…

I want a professional body that works for everyone

I hope colleagues will forgive my reference to the Theresa May rhetoric, but as a community pharmacist I have to ask, is the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) really working for me? It seems that the RPS is obsessed with the practice pharmacist initiative (which, I agree, is excellent) but the impl…

We want pharmacy board candidates to support local practice forums

As a group of volunteers up and down the country, local practice forum (LPF) steering group members work hard to provide a local offering for members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). This includes, but is not limited to: education and training events; research symposia; networking and supp…