NHS patients owe £246m in unpaid penalties for prescription charge exemption errors NHS patients have accrued a total debt of £246m in unpaid penalty fees for incorrectly claiming free NHS prescriptions, the National Audit Office has said.…
NHS England cannabis access review to speak with families paying £40k for private prescriptions The All Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Cannabis under Prescription has said it has put forward 22 families to speak with NHS England as part of its “rapid processes evaluation” of NHS medical cannabis prescribing.…
Pharmacists ‘unqualified’ to follow government drug-switching protocols, say legal campaigners A legal campaign group has said pharmacists are “unqualified” to dispense alternative medicines during shortages in line with a government-issued protocol.…
Government delays consultation with pharmaceutical industry over generics price limiting powers A government consultation with the pharmaceutical industry over plans to use new powers to limit the price of generic medicines has been delayed until later in 2019, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.…
Pharmacist-led oral health intervention scheme to be rolled out after successful pilot A pilot programme in which pharmacists offer oral health advice to patients while they wait for prescriptions is due to be rolled out across the north east of England.…
All opioid medicines to contain clear warnings about addiction, health secretary announces All opioid medicines will need to carry prominent warnings about the risk of addiction, health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, has announced.…
Appointment availability is behind huge number of missed measles vaccinations, PHE expert says A senior epidemiologist at Public Health England has said that concerns about vaccinations are unlikely to be behind figures from international children’s charity UNICEF, which show that half a million children in the UK have not received their first vaccination against measles.…
NHS Digital may trial pharmacy access to patient records using a tablet this year Pharmacists could soon access summary care records (SCR) using an Apple iPad rather than a smartcard, under a new NHS Digital pilot.…
At least one resident per care home on antibiotics, finds Boots UK study A month-long survey looking at the antibiotic use of nearly 18,000 patients has revealed that at least one resident in each of 644 long-term care facilities in the UK was taking an antibiotic.…
Government says petition based on ‘misunderstanding’ of responsible pharmacist proposals The government has responded to a petition calling for responsible pharmacist proposals to be rejected saying that it has no current plans to remove the requirement that a pharmacist must supervise the sale or supply of pharmacy or prescription only medicines at or from a registered pharmacy.…
