Prescription-only medicines

Australia tightens restrictions over codeine-containing medicines

Products containing codeine will no longer be available over the counter in Australia following a review by its medicine’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration.…

Doctors call for helpline to support people addicted to prescription drugs

Doctors have called on the UK government to set up a national telephone helpline for people addicted to prescription drugs.…

What is the Falsified Medicines Directive?

Aileen Bryson, practice and policy lead at RPS Scotland, speaks to Julia Robinson about the purpose of the Falsified Medicines Directive and how it will affect pharmacists in the UK.…

Patients needing urgent repeat prescriptions will be referred to pharmacies, not GPs

Patients who require urgent repeat medicines will be urged to see a community pharmacist rather than go to a GP or A&E department to take pressure off urgent care services under plans revealed by community health and care minister David Mowat.…

Evaluating a point-of-care C-reactive protein test to support antibiotic prescribing decisions in a general practice

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of infection and inflammation. It is high in bacterial infections but very low or close to zero in viral infections. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), England and Wales’s health technology assessment body, has issued guidance on …

Drug safety regulator warns students of the dangers of ‘smart drugs’

Some 13% of young adults have bought ‘smart drugs’ such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) or Provigil (modafinil) without a prescription in the past year, according to the results of a survey by the UK medicines safety watchdog.…

Prescription drug misusers in EU more likely to be male and unemployed

Great Britain has the highest prevalence of non-medical use of stimulants compared with four other EU countries, according to new research.…

RPS joins forces with Confused.com after data reveal rise in drug driving

The RPS is helping to raise public awareness of the laws around drug driving after Confused.com data highlighted 140% leap in the number of people charged with the offence.…

Dieticians join ranks of prescribers

More health professional groups in England are being given the chance to prescribe, sell and supply medicines, NHS England has announced.…

Engagement is vital for switching more medicines from prescription-only to over-the-counter, says UK regulator

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has emphasised that greater stakeholder and public engagement will be key to the success of its reclassification platform, set up in 2015 to help enable more medicines to be made available without prescription.…