Poll: pharmacies and complementary medicines : 16/03/2011 :

Recent discussions on AusPharmList about how much 'religion' is inherent in complementary and alternative medicines has pharmacists thinking once again about whether their pharmacies should be stocking the array of unproven complementary medicines (CAMs) that most of them do.

While there is an evidence base to many CAMs, many more of the CAM products on pharmacy shelves lack a solid evidence base to support their use.

What do you think? Please let us know by voting in today's AusPharm poll.

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PSA, Guild dismissive of latest attack on pharmacy : 16/03/2011 :

Calls for reform in the community pharmacy industry (Financial Review 15/3/2011) are misguided and ignore the contribution pharmacists play in the improved health outcomes of all Australians, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia said yesterday.

National President of the PSA, Warwick Plunkett, said the renewed calls somehow equated deregulating pharmacy ownership to allow supermarket chains to open pharmacies with a better health-care system in Australia.

“Such a leap of logic is entirely baseless and experience overseas shows that it is quite false to believe there are major cost-saving benefits in having pharmacies in supermarkets,” Mr Plunkett said.

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Swap it, don't stop it! : 16/03/2011 :

Last Sunday the Commonwealth Government launched a ‘Swap it don’t stop it’ campaign urging Australians to make some simple lifestyle changes.

The campaign features Eric, an animated blue balloon character. On television, in print and on the radio, Eric will urge Australians to make some simple lifestyle changes to become healthier.

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Berocca in the po* : 16/03/2011 :

On 18 November 2010, Jane Halton, Secretary of the Department of Health & Ageing presented Bayer Australia with the Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI) Marketing Award for the best launch of a consumer healthcare product for their "Berocca Performance Twist N Go launch campaign". This award was said to recognise Quality Use of Medicines (QUM), innovation, marketing and sales best practice, and consumer focus.

However, in a judgement released yesterday the Complaint Resolution Panel (CRP); the body responsible for determining whether ads breach the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code 2007, requested Bayer Australia Pty Ltd withdraw the advertisement from further publication and also imposed a range of additional sanctions.

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Pharmacy's night of stars : 16/03/2011 :

PSA's New South Wales Pharmacy dinner is back after a two year break and features a fresh look and feel, New South Wales President Peter Gissing announced yesterday.

“It was always the intention to bring back the dinner." Mr Gissing said. "There is no doubt the Pharmacy Dinner has been missed, as we have received numerous queries about it in the intervening period.”

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PSA 2011 award for QUM in Pain Management : 15/03/2011 :

Once again in 2011 the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is offering an award for quality use of medicine in Pain Management. The recipient of the 2011 PSA Award for QUM in Pain Management will receive registration fees, travel and accommodation to attend PAC11, to the value of $5,000. The award has been been supported by an educational grant from Mundipharma.

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PSA’s new Pharmacy Support Program a hit : 15/03/2011 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s new program designed to support pharmacies in the implementation and management of professional services has received strong support and uptake from pharmacies, as well as support from one of the pharmacy’s profession’s leading business advisors.

The PSA Pharmacy Support Program is a consultancy service offered to every pharmacy in Australia and is especially tailored to meet the particular requirements of individual pharmacies.

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New Health Report: Dementia is everybody’s business : 15/03/2011 :

A new Pfizer Australia Health Report, Dementia is everybody’s business, was released today. The report was developed by Alzheimer's Australia and supported by Pfizer Australia to highlight the need for more awareness about the impact of dementia in the community.

President of Alzheimer's Australia, Ita Buttrose, says public fears about dementia may be the result of a lack of understanding in the community about this condition.

“The impact of dementia is widespread, currently affecting 260,000 Australians and impacting their 1.2 million carers, but we have a long way to go before we become a dementia friendly society,” Ms Buttrose said.

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National Drug Strategy 2010-2015 : 14/03/2011 :

Meeting in Perth recently, the Australian Ministerial Council On Drug Strategy approved the National Drug Strategy 2010-2015. The Strategy is the result of an extensive consultation process that began in December 2009 with the release of a consultation paper and concluded in December 2010 with the close of comments on a draft of the Strategy.

The Strategy maintains the cooperative venture between the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments, as well as the non-government sector, to  minimise alcohol, tobacco and other drug-related harms.

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RGH E-Bulletin notches up 10 years : 14/03/2011 :

The RGH Pharmacy E-Bulletin distributed this week, Volume 41(7), marks a milestone in the history of the E-Bulletins. E-Bulletin 41-7 is in fact the 10^th anniversary edition.

The first RGH Pharmacy E-Bulletin, edited by Dr Chris Alderman, was developed after a broad consultation process and distributed on Monday March 12 2001, with that edition addressing the use of bupropion to assist in the process of smoking cessation. Since then, the E-Bulletin has been distributed weekly and has covered a broad range of topics relevant to therapeutics and quality use of medicines issues. Dr Alderman remains the editor of the E-Bulletin to this day.

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Consumers back big pharma on PBS listing process : 14/03/2011 :

Peak consumer group, the Consumers Health Forum (CHF), has come out in support of pharma group Medicines Australia's stance against compulsory Cabinet scrutiny of new PBS listings.

Carol Bennett, Chief Executive Officer CHF, said consumers are worried that the most effective drugs to treat certain illnesses are being delayed so the budget can be brought back to surplus.

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Clinical intervention workshops for pharmacists : 14/03/2011 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, in conjunction with the University of Tasmania's Unit for Medication Outcomes Research and Education (UMORE), is launching a series of workshops for pharmacists wanting to deliver the clinical intervention services that will be funded under the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement.

Under 5CPA, the Government will be funding pharmacists through the Pharmacy Practice Incentive (PPI) Program to deliver quality professional services to consumers to improve their health outcomes.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Intravesical gemcitabine : 14/03/2011 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Intravesical gemcitabine

"The primary treatment of low risk superficial bladder cancer is usually by transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by intravesical instillation of chemotherapy such as mitomycin or epirubicin. The objective of this approach is to destroy residual tumor cells that remain after TURBT. In patients with intermediate or high risk superficial bladder cancer, further courses of intravesical therapy are required to reduce tumor recurrence and progression, decreasing the likely need for cystectomy. Treatments with intravesical Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), interferon, mitomycin (MMC), epirubicin, and valrubicin have been used with varying success for superficial bladder cancer. BCG is one of the most effective agents, but even so, only one-third of patients respond to this agent."

Click here to read the bulletin in full. The E‑Bulletins are archived on the AusPharmList website here.

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50% of pharmacists struggle to find time to properly counsel on scripts : 11/03/2011 :

The results of this week's poll suggest that fully 50% of pharmacists struggle to find the time to counsel on prescriptions 'a lot' or 'all the time'.

Little has changed since we ran the exact same poll in 2006 - the proportion then was also 50% (well 49% actually). That said, the number of pharmacists saying they have trouble counselling on scripts 'all the time' more than doubled between 2006 and 2011, going from 5% to 11%.

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Sydney robber gang targets pharmacy customers : 11/03/2011 :

A gang of robbers is targeting customers in Sydney pharmacies. Police say that the gang usually is comprised of four members, one adult and three children.

While the three children, all appearing sweet and innocent, divert their intended target with a show of friendliness, the eldest -- sneaks in from behind the person's back to expertly rifle through their pockets or bags for any valuables.

The picture below shows the gang in operation.

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Manual claiming for electronic prescription fee no longer required after July 1 : 11/03/2011 :

From July 1 2011 pharmacies wil no longer have to submit manual claims to claim the 15c electronic prescription fee. From that date, eligible PBS and RPBS prescriptions (excluding under co-payment prescriptions) will be identified through Online Claiming for PBS information. Payments will be made at the same time eligible prescriptions are assessed and paid. ‘Claim for payment’ forms and reports will no longer be required for PBS and RPBS prescriptions.

News of the new claim process was contained in the Autumn 2011 Medicare Bulletin Board. Bulletin Board is a quarterly newsletter covering the PBS and related issues for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants.

Other issues covered in the latest Bulletin Board include:

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2011 flu vaccines : 11/03/2011 :

The TGA has released details of the approved indications for the 6 influenza vaccines approved for use in Australia for 2011.

As a result of an excess number of cases of febrile reactions and febrile convulsions occurring in paediatric populations following immunisation with Fluvax in 2010, the 2011 vaccines vary in the age groups for which they are approved. Not all manufactureres were able to commit to active surveillance of children from 6 months to 9 years of age, to ensure effective monitoring of paediatric populations in Australia previously unexposed to these vaccines, and these manufacturers' vaccines are not approved for use in all age groups.

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STOP mandated in South Australia : 11/03/2011 :

The South Australian Government has mandated the use of Project STOP.

Currently around 60 per cent of the state’s pharmacies already use Project STOP - this decision will help close any potential gaps that may be exploited by pseudo runners. By taking this step, South Australia joins Queensland and Western Australia in requiring the use of Project STOP. 

The Pharmacy Guild welcomed the South Australian decision and believes other States and Territories should follow suit. “Project STOP has been so effective that it is worthy of 100 per cent support across Australia,” Guild National President, Kos Sclavos, said.

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TGA Transparency Review submissions : 10/03/2011 :

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has this week published on its website submissions received to its Transparency Review. The review is focusing on improving the TGA's transparency and reflects community concern about the lack of information made available by the TGA.

56 public submissions were received including from the the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and from a number of individual pharmacists.

All submissions to the Review are available on the TGA website here.

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Medicines Australia keeping the pressure on over Cabinet scrutiny of PBS listings : 10/03/2011 :

Peak pharma body Medicines Australia is continuing its push to have the government decision to have Cabinet review all new PBS listings reverrsed.

Medicines Australia CEO, Dr Brendan Shaw said yesterday that “Patients will now end up paying more for the medicines they need. This will hit ordinary Australians where it hurts – at the hip pocket. We should be a country that can afford to pay for the medicines that sick people need.”

“The Government has ignored the advice of its own clinical and health economics experts who have advised that these medicines should be available on the PBS,” he added.

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