Prescription-only medicines

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.…

Latest dispensing figures hold no surprises

The latest report on prescriptions dispensed in the England, from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, make complete sense, writes Chris Chapman.…

Tackling prescription drug abuse

There are signs that strategies to address prescription drug abuse are starting to work but will an increase in illegal drug use be the payoff?…

EMA recommends restrictions on codeine for children

The European Medicines Agency is recommending that codeine-containing products used to treat coughs and colds should be banned for those aged under 12 years.…

Behind the scenes of medicines regulation

Sir Michael Rawlins talks about how the MHRA intends to speed up approval of innovative medicines, involve pharmacists in reclassification and address drug shortages and trade in counterfeit medicines.…