ASMI: association between calcium supplements and heart disease 'controversial' : 04/08/2010 :

The Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI), the industry body representing non-prescription consumer healthcare products in Australia, issued a statement yesterday telling consumers that they should not be alarmed by recent media coverage linking calcium supplements with an increased risk of heart disease.

ASMI was responding to media coverage regarding the safety of calcium supplements following the publication of a recent article in the British Medical Journal [1]. The article suggested that the role of calcium supplements should be reassessed because they could increase a person’s risks of heart disease.

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Generics incentives to be made public : 04/08/2010 :

The ACCC yesterday announced that it intends to grant conditional approval to the second edition of the Generic Medicines Industry Association's Code of Practice. The Code is intended to provides a self-regulatory framework to govern the relationship between generic pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals.

"While the ACCC is proposing to grant authorisation, this is subject to conditions to provide greater transparency around the relationship between the manufacturers of generic medicines and pharmacists," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.

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Kung Flu fighters : 04/08/2010 :

According to the Pharmacy Guild its Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Program, also known as the Kung Flu Fighter campaign, has been well received by Guild members.

Over 1800 individual pharmacies participated in the program and over 1200 pharmacy staff members registered for infection control and business planning workshops across Australia. 

Another indicator of success was the enthusiastic response to the Kung Flu Fighter “look-a-like” competition.

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AHPRA / Board apologises for delays : 04/08/2010 :

In a statement posted on its website yesterday, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) acknowledged the difficulty people were having contacting the agency and apologised for the delays.

"We know that sometimes it has been difficult to reach AHPRA on 1300 419 495 due to the exceptionally high call volumes we are experiencing. We apologise for any delays that you may have experienced. We are working hard to ensure that your phone and email queries are dealt with as quickly as possible."

The Pharmacy Board has posted a series of FAQs on its website (here) that may answer some of the questions people are unable get answered through inability to contact AHPRA by phone.

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Medicines Safety Update focuses on Champix, Panvax : 04/08/2010 :

Medicines Safety Update No.4; 2010 (formerly the ADRAC Bulletin) has been published on the TGA website.

According to the TGA, psychiatric symptoms, including suicidal behaviour, continue to be reported with varenicline. To May 2010, there have been 206 reports of suicide-related events in people taking varenicline, including 15 completed suicides. The TGA is asking health professionals to include relevant information from the patient's history in adverse reaction reports to help in its assessment of cases, and is reminding them to discuss the possibility of these events with patients and their families.

The Update also reports on the Panvax swine flu vaccine - information is now available about the number and types of adverse reactions reported during the first six months of the program.

The Medicines Safety Update is on the TGA website here.

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SHPA continuum of care award announced : 04/08/2010 :

Alexandra (Sasha) Bennett is the recipient of the SHPA sanofi-aventis Pamela Nieman Continuum of Care Research Grant 2010. The award provides a grant of $10,000 to a pharmacist member of SHPA ideally focusing on the development and implementation of strategies and or education to facilitate improved
continuity of care.

Sasha’s research will comprise a national, multicentre study designed to describe the nature and range of pharmacist services directed at addressing continuity of care gaps in the achievement of quality use of medicines (QUM) in patients discharged from Australian hospitals during 2010.

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Survey - What should be on the FIP Centennial Congress agenda : 03/08/2010 :

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) was founded in 1912 and is looking forward to celebrating its centenary in 2012. The FIP centennial congress will be held in Amsterdam, 3-8 October 2012, and to make it an event worthy of the past 100 years, FIP is seeking input from pharmacists as to what they would like to see on the congress agenda.

You can offer your thoughts in a short survey, which is anonymous, unless you'd like the chance to win a free centennial congress registration by also giving your email address.

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Patients poorly understand their type 2 diabetes management : 03/08/2010 :

Some of the results of new research on the challenges patients face in management of type 2 diabetes have been released by Novartis Australia, with endorsement by the Pharmacy Guild. The research was conducted online among a representative sample (401) of Australians aged 18-64 with type 2 diabetes, and shows a low level of understanding among patients.

The report reveals that although 67% of respondents believe they know their blood glucose (HbA1c) target, only 17% are able to identify it correctly. 1 in 3 respondents consider their diabetes to be uncontrolled, while the same proportion admits they do not know what their optimal blood glucose levels should be.

According to Guild President, Kos Sclavos, the research reveals a surprising lack of knowledge among patients about the basics of managing type 2 diabetes.

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Efficacy of combined analgesics with less than 60mg codeine questioned : 03/08/2010 :

A recent Australian review of combination analgesics in adults, published in the August 2010 Australian Prescriber, concluded:

"...for acute postoperative pain there is evidence of efficacy for paracetamol 1g with codeine 60mg, and some evidence for paracetamol combined with codeine in hip osteoarthroses. Current guidelines do not support the use of paracetamol and codeine combination products in other acute or chronic pain states.
    There are limited data for doses of codeine less than 60mg in combination with paracetamol, and current data suggest that paracetamol alone has greater efficacy than paracetamol combined with codeine at doses under 60mg.
    Current evidence shows improved analgesia with codeine 60mg and ibuprofen 400mg compared to ibuprofen alone, but there are minimal data for lower doses.
    Indirect comparisons show that the combination of aspirin and codeine may be less efficacious than aspirin alone and therefore the combination cannot be recommended. Given the lack of documented analgesic efficacy of low-dose codeine preparations, rescheduling of codeine in Australia is unlikely to impact significantly on analgesic options, but may reduce the harms from overuse."

The NPS supports the findings of the paper, saying that they are in line with NPS reviews of evidence that show when treating acute pain, only modest additional pain relief is achieved when codeine is added to other analgesics.

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RADAR reservations on paracetamol/caffeine product : 03/08/2010 :

With the availability of Panadol Extra (paracetamol/caffeine) as a pharmacy-only medicine for temporary pain relief from 1 May 2010, the August issue of RADAR includes timely advice and reservations about the use of this OTC product. The article reports that although caffeine is claimed to enhance the efficacy of paracetamol, peak plasma levels and extent of absorption are similar for paracetamol with caffeine and paracetamol alone. Compared with paracetamol alone, a person taking the combination of paracetamol with caffeine may be more likely to experience adverse effects than to get improved analgesia.

Other items in this issue of RADAR include:

• Gliptins for type 2 diabetes mellitus, with the addition of Vildagliptin (Galvus)  to the PBS. Like sitagliptin (Januvia), it can be prescribed with metformin or a sulfonylurea when a combination of these drugs is contraindicated or not tolerated.
• A new adrenaline autoinjector (Anapen) for emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. It has a substantially different administration technique to that of EpiPen.
• Methoxyflurane (Penthrox) for analgesia (doctor’s bag listing).
• Melatonin prolonged-release tablets (Circadin) for short term use in primary insomnia in people 55 years and over.
• Colchicine for acute gout - updated information about dosing and drug interactions.

RADAR, the Rational Assessment of Drugs and Research, is an NPS publication.

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MIMS Monthly Medicine Update : 03/08/2010 :

The MIMS August 2010 Monthly Medicine Update is now available. Click the link to read it now.

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CHOICE trial doubts value of expensive shampoos : 02/08/2010 :

A recent CHOICE trial of 11 shampoos amongst 40 panellists found that the cheaper shampoos rated more highly overall than the expensive ones, when tested for cleaning, fragrance and consistency. From an ingredient viewpoint, little difference was found between the products. The premium priced products tend to have better fragrance, packaging and marketing but the basic cleaning functionality of the products is much the same.

"Amid all the marketing hype, the basic purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair and scalp," said CHOICE spokesman Brad Schmitt. "Beyond that, shampoo is a case of personal preference, but our trial proves price is no indication of quality or popularity and with the expensive brands you could be pouring money down the drain."

The full survey can be viewed at www.choice.com.au/shampoo.

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Flu shots for under fives can be resumed with Vaxigrip or Influvac : 02/08/2010 :

The Chief Medical Officer has issued updated advice on seasonal flu vaccination for young children (under 5 years of age).

Continued close monitoring of side effects with this year's seasonal flu vaccine in children under five has shown that the higher than usual occurrence of fever and febrile convulsions appears to be confined to Fluvax (CSL). The CMO advises parents that they can now seek advice from their doctor or vaccine provider to use other brands - Vaxigrip (Sanofi Pasteur), Influvac (Abbott) - if they want their young children vaccinated.

To date and explanation for the higher than expected observed rates of fever and febrile convulsions with Fluvax has not been found, but investigations continue.

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New executive director takes over at ASMI : 02/08/2010 :

As announced in February, Deon Schoombie took over the executive directorship of the self-medication industry lobby group, ASMI on 30 July 2010. Former executive director Juliet Seifert has stood down after 21 years, to spend more time with family.

Since mid-2004, Dr Schoombie was ASMI's scientific director. Steven Scarff, solicitor and former regulatory affairs staffer with J&J Pacific and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, was appointed as replacement regulatory and scientific affairs director in June 2010.

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1 month's grace if registration due to expire : 02/08/2010 :

AHPRA has issued brief advice giving pharmacists a one month grace period if their registration is about to expire. If registration renewal has fallen due, it can be renewed online using the registration ID number and the password (posted out to registrants recently by AHPRA).

Provided pharmacist registration is renewed within one month of it falling due, pharmacists will remain registered under a grace period and can continue to work. If renewal is applied for after the one month grace period, a late fee will apply as well as the registration fee.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Central post-stroke pain : 02/08/2010 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Central post-stroke pain.

"Central post-stroke pain (CPSP) is a chronic pain disorder resulting from a lesion or dysfunction of the central nervous system. Previously known as the "thalamic syndrome", CPSP has been shown in early post-mortem studies and modern imaging techniques to also occur in extrathalamic lesions. Frequent co-existing pain in stroke patients and variability in onset, presentation and intensity of CPSP, as well as the lack of diagnostic criteria, makes diagnosis of this disorder complex. Currently, the Western Australian Therapeutic Advisory Group recommends tricyclic antidepressants as the first line treatment for CPSP and lamotrigine as the second line approach."

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

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PAC earlybird registration closes tomorrow : 31/07/2010 :

Early Bird Registrations for PAC10 close tomorrow so there is still time to get a special deal and take advantage of the wide range of sessions and activities available. PSA members can save $150 if they register early - non members can save $250.

One area of particular interest is the introduction of mandatory continuing professional development for pharmacists under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme which has raised many issues and a question often asked is, “How is this going to work for me?”

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IMS Health - ACP Young Pharmacist Innovation Grant : 30/07/2010 :

The Australian College of Pharmacy (ACP) announced yesterday that Jana Fulcher had been chosen as the 2010 recipient of the IMS Health - College Young Pharmacist Innovation Grant.

The grant will send a selected young pharmacist to this year's FIP Conference to be held in Lisbon from the 28th August to the 2nd September.

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Good news for Bright Young Things : 30/07/2010 :

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has established a dedicated area on its website for Early Career Pharmacists.

The website provides an avenue for ECPs to monitor the progress of the PSA’s ECP Working Group projects, submissions and activities. It also provides a link to the ECP Facebook page.

Chair of the ECP Working Group, Justin Lee, said the projects section of the site contains the results of the recent ECP survey that was conducted earlier in the year.

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Pharmacists slow to embrace Issues Paper : 30/07/2010 :

Some two months after PSA released its Issues Paper on the Future of Pharmacy less than a third of the respondents to this week's AusPharm poll say they have read it. However, another one third of respondents say they still plan to have a look.

The results of the poll aren't too different to an identical poll we ran a month ago asking 'listers if they'd read the Guild's The Roadmap - The Strategic Direction for Community Pharmacy.

You can download the Issues Paper here and the Roadmap here. AusPharm's read them and commends them both to you.

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