Poll result: do patients find pharmacist counselling unwelcome? : 04/02/2009 :

Maybe, according to the result of this week's poll.

While AusPharm is receptive to Bruce Moffat's pitch that counselling is essential, whether or not patients like it, this result suggests to us that *the way pharmacists counsel* might need some work.

As Stuart Baker wrote "If patients keep telling you they don't want something to the extent that our 'counselling' becomes the subject of comedy skits then surely that is enough of a sign to indicate that something is wrong with the [whole] process."

Click the link to see the result in detail.

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Pharmacy Guild donations to political parties : 03/02/2009 :

'Listers with an eye to political news in Australia will have seen a number of reports in yesterday's media about donations to political parties in the lead up to the 2007 federal election.

AusPharm didn't see pharmacy mentioned at all in any of these so we went to the Australian Electoral Commission's (AEC) donation database and did a number of searches to see whether any pharmacy related entities were present.

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A new Pharmacy Self Care : 03/02/2009 :

A new Pharmacy Self Care membership package has been launched to provide more value to members as well as greater access to the program’s resources for members and their staff.

The new package will also encourage greater use of the program’s key resources, most particularly the Fact Cards and inPHARMation.

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New issue of Australian Prescriber hits the streets : 03/02/2009 :

The February issue of Australia Prescriber, published online yesterday contains a number of articles likely to be of interest to pharmacists.

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Poll: is pharmacist counselling unwelcome? : 02/02/2009 :

Stuart Baker raised an interesting point in an AusPharmList post last Friday; that pharmacists sometimes 'counsel' when it is unwelcome.

"Pharmacy has it all wrong - we should wait until somebody asks for help or information (that's how you know they want some). Pharmacy started this 'counselling' years ago without ever finding out if patients want it - they don't. It's driven by Official Pharmacy, not by patients, and not by many pharmacists although some of the latter think it's actually important."

Do pharmacists counsel when it is unwelcome? Please let us know what you think by voting in today's AusPharm poll below.

Little effect on community pharmacy from first price disclosure price reductions : 02/02/2009 :

Last Friday, the Department of Health and Ageing announced the price reductions that would flow through as a result of the first round of price disclosure. These will come into play on August 1, 2009.

The drugs affected are doxorubicin, meloxicam, mitozantrone and ondansetron. The only one of these particularly relevant to community pharmacy is meloxicam - its price will drop by 22%.

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RGH E-Bulletin: Ambulatory glycaemic control – recent developments : 02/02/2009 :

The topic of this week's RGH E-Bulletin is Ambulatory glycaemic control – recent developments.

"Three recent studies – ACCORD, ADVANCE and VADT – have given cause to re-examine the intensity of outpatient
glycaemic control for diabetes."

Click here to read the bulletin in full.

The E-Bulletin is archived and previous editions can be viewed on the AusPharm website here.

Poll: a pharmacists role in primary health care : 30/01/2009 :

Our latest AusPharm poll asked 'listers to have a think about how pharmacists providing professional services might fit into the primary health care team.

A sizeable majority (67%) responded that flexibility was the key and that pharmacists should be able to work either independently or 'affiliated' with a community pharmacy. 18% thought that professional pharmacy services should be delivered exclusively through community pharmacies.

While AusPharm understands the argument that such services are paid for out of the community pharmacy funding pool (and therefore they should be provided out of community pharmacies) our poll result suggests that many pharmacists believe this model needs revisiting.

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AusPharm CE: Restless legs syndrome : 29/01/2009 :

Later this month AusPharm will  be commencing its 2009 Continuing Education Program.

In the meantime, you might like to have a look at an activitiy we first published back in April last year, Restless legs syndrome. It was put together for us by Debbie Rigby. 

Click here to do this Continuing Education activity now.

As a special treat for our non premium members (so that you can see what you're missing out on!), we've made it available to ALL registered AusPharm members (not just premium members) for THE NEXT WEEK ONLY (until 5/2/09).

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Poll: pharmacist's role in primary health care : 28/01/2009 :

The National Primary Health Care Strategy is a key element of the Rudd Government's health reform process, seeking to redefine preventive care, primary health care and acute care in an environment of an ageing population and increasing burden of chronic disease.

The Discussion Paper canvasses many important issues relevant to pharmacists, and potentially offers an opportunity to expand the role of pharmacists in collaboration with other health professionals. Yesterday's feature article from John Gibson  looked at this and suggested possible roles for a 'Private Practitioner Pharmacist'.

What do you think a pharmacist's role in primary health care should be? Please let us know by voting in today's poll below.

RGH E-Bulletin: Rivaroxaban : 28/01/2009 :

The RGH E-Bulletin  is back for 2009; the topic of this week's Bulletin is Rivaroxaban.

"The current approach to prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) after major orthopaedic surgery of the lower limbs includes the use of warfarin, unfractionated heparin or low molecular weight heparin (refer to e-bulletin vol 31(8)).

Rivaroxaban (Xarelto®) is a selective direct Factor Xa inhibitor with good oral bioavailability."

Click here to read the bulletin in full.

The E-Bulletin is archived and previous editions can be viewed on the AusPharm website here.

Research topics for honours and PhD students : 28/01/2009 :

As we approach the 2009 academic year AusPharm's mail is that academic staff around the country are looking for help in identifying good research topics for their honours and PhD students.

It occurs to us that amongst the thousands of 'listers who read AusPharm that there must be plenty of good ideas just waiting for someone to pick them up and run with them.

If you've got a good suggestion for a research topic, let's have it!

Pharmspace Virtual Careers Fair and Expo set for 2009 : 27/01/2009 :

Last Friday at the NAPSA Congress in Perth Raven’s Recruitment's Adam Bell unveiled plans for Pharmspace 09, an online virtual Careers Fair and Expo for Australian Pharmacy.

Pharmspace is a fully interactive 3D website that will feature a Pharmacy Industry Trade Exhibition, a pre-reg student careers fair, live conference style presentations and discussion forums, all of which will replicate a real life conference experience.

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Two pharmacists awarded OAMs : 27/01/2009 :

Launceston pharmacist Harvey Cuthill has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in this year's Australia Day honours awards.

Mr Cuthill's award recognises his service over many years to pharmacy, through the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, and to the community of Launceston through service, health and sporting organisations.

Queensland pharmacist Edward Davidson also received an OAM for service to the community of Townsville, particularly through Rotary International and as a contributor to programs assisting youth at risk.

$1.50 incentive: poll result : 23/01/2009 :

Yesterday's AusPharm poll asked people what their 'success' rate is switching patients to medication brands that attract the $1.50 government allowance.

The results tell us that while almost 60% of respondents (n=73) are getting outcomes above 80%, there are many who aren't achieving such good results.

Click here to read industry analyst, JR Pharmacy's Bruce Annabel's comments on the poll. 

Click the link to see the results in details or to post a comment to AusPharmList.

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Johnson & Johnson JJET program for pharmacy assistants : 23/01/2009 :

In April 2009, Johnson & Johnson Pacific will launch its JJET (Johnson & Johnson Education and Training) program for pharmacy Assistants. The new platform will provide a fun, interactive and rewarding way for pharmacy assistants to learn about J&J pharmacy products, health conditions, selling skills and more.

Designed with pharmacy Assistants in mind, JJET will equip users with the ability to advise virtual customers about health care issues ranging from coughs & colds to dry skin. New JJET training modules will be introduced each month, covering topics such as Body Systems; Conditions; Symptoms & Treatments; Product Training; and Customer Scenarios to develop selling skills.

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Three day 'emergency supply' rule to go? : 23/01/2009 :

The Pharmacy Guild yesterday asked its members to help it gather evidence to support a new 'emergency supply' rule that would see pharmacists allowed to supply a full PBS pack of a medication when a patient not in possession of a prescription was deemed to need an 'emergency supply'.

The plan has the support of the AMA and, according to the Guild, could see pharmacists reimbursed in the usual way without having to chase up a hard copy prescription.

Poll: generic substitution rate : 22/01/2009 :

In an AusPharmList post on Monday Andrew Topp suggested we run a poll asking people what their 'success' rate is switching patients to medication brands that attract the $1.50 generic 'allowance'.

Andrew argued that (certainly for a cheap item), the $1.50 government allowance may outweigh any wholesale discount a pharmacy might earn, particularly as margins gradually reduce under the weight of price disclosure and that it could be argued that the $1.50 success rate provides a good indicator of success of substitution, that allows all pharmacies to compare rates, irrespective of their major generic supplier.

So what happening in the pharmacy you work in? Please let us know by participating in today's AusPharm poll below. This poll will remain open only until early tomorrow morning, when we'll publish the result.

Prescribing antidepressants in children : 22/01/2009 :

In response to reports of high rates of prescribing of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for infants and youths, the National Prescribing Service (NPS) has drawn together existing information resources and made them available in one convenient place on the NPS website to assist health professionals.

“NPS is working with the Department of Health and Ageing and Medicare Australia to further clarify the nature of current prescribing practice in this area,” NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said.

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J&J mounts mouthwash safety media campaign : 21/01/2009 :

Johnson & Johnson Pacific has launched a national media campaign to inform consumers about the established safety profile of mouthwashes, such as LISTERINE®. The campaign aims to provide consumers with accurate, evidence-based information about J&J's  oral care products
 
According to J&J, consumers have been confused and concerned at recent media reports suggesting that long term use of mouthwashes that contain alcohol can increase the risk of serious disease. J&J says that the published paper on which the media reports were based included only a selective group of clinical data that does not accurately reflect the full body of scientific evidence on the subject.

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