Prescription-only medicines

Maloff Protect antimalarial tablets to be available OTC in pharmacies

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has reclassified the antimalarial Maloff Protect (atovaquone/proguanil hydrochloride) to make it available from a pharmacist without a prescription. …

Prescriptions of antidepressants up for fourth year in a row

The number of antidepressants dispensed in England in 2016 increased by 6% from the previous year, according to data from NHS Digital.…

Common antibiotics linked with miscarriage in early pregnancy

A study of pregnant women shows some commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics to be associated with up to a twofold increase in risk of miscarriage before 20 weeks.…

Restricting what is allowed on prescription in England: views from healthcare professionals and patient groups

We ask healthcare professionals across primary care and patient groups for their thoughts on NHS England’s decision to review what GPs are allowed to prescribe.…

MHRA recommends that sildenafil is made available over the counter in the UK

Sildenafil — the prescription-only medicine branded as Viagra for the treatment of erectile dysfunction — could become a pharmacy (P) medicine if government proposals go ahead.…

Room for improvement with the new community pharmacy urgent medicine supply scheme

The new urgent medicine supply scheme from NHS England requires more thought and revision.…

Prescription Charges Coalition launches survey into long-term conditions

The Prescription Charges Coalition (PCC), a body of over 40 organisations including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), has launched a survey investigating the impact of prescription charges on people in England with long-term conditions. The PCC is calling for all those with long-term con…

Pharmacists in New Zealand can now prescribe the oral contraception pill to women

We have come a long way from the early days of the oral contraceptive pill, where the doctor would only prescribe it to women who were married, and then told them soon after that it was time to stop it and have babies. But in most countries we have not come far enough. The oral contraceptive i…

Changes to pharmacy supervision laws ‘will not be easy’, says chair of rebalancing board

Plans to change the law around pharmacy supervision “will not be easy”, especially in England, the chair of the government-appointed board set up to push through the reforms has warned.…

Consumers at risk from drug ingredients in herbal food supplements

Consumers are being put at risk from herbal supplements available over the counter that contain pharmacological ingredients not listed on the product label, according to research published in the Journal of the Association of Public Analysts .…