Interested in doing some research to look at an expanded role for pharmacists in blood pressure control? : 01/05/2008 :

High blood pressure affects around one in seven Australians and, if not properly managed, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. According to the Heart Foundation, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia, killing one person every 10 minutes.

The Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement Research and Development Program is inviting applications from interested researchers to develop a service that involves community pharmacists in assisting patients reach and maintain target blood pressure levels.

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API releases half year result : 01/05/2008 :

Wholesaler API yesterday releases its financial results for the half year ending February 28. Earnings for the period before interest, tax and one-off costs to do with the integration of the Alphapharm business were $21.7 million. API says it is confident it will reach its full-year EBIT target of $49.5 million.

Read all about it by following the links in todays AusPharm 'In the news' section below.

Roger MacGregor - I do it my way : 30/04/2008 :

The winner of this year's Rural or Small Pharmacy Pharmacy of ther Year prize, announced at the recent APP2008 conference, was pharmacist Roger MacGregor whose pharmacy is at Sinnamon Park in Queensland.
Roger has recently refitted and re-arranged his pharmacy in a quite unique way, focusing on health 'modules' rather than using the traditional pharmacy method of arranging stock in 'sections'.

Roger is shown above telling his story to APP delegates. Click the More... link to see a photo or two of what Roger's done in his pharmacy and to listen to an interview Irwin the evil chemist did with him at APP, in which he explains the philosophy behind his idea.

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Poll: how do you lay out your dispensary? : 30/04/2008 :

There are generics like Endep that are practically a brand. Then there is Frakas; do you keep that next to the Vibra-Tabs or next to the Doxylin? How about the newer generics like glimepiride for Amaryl and ramipril generics for Tritace... they might logically go next to their originator brand. Or what?
In our travels as a locum, AusPharm has seen most possible dispensary layouts - from strict alphabetical layout by brand to no *apparent* system to everything in between.

With the increase in the number of generic brands stocked by many pharmacies in recent times, how to layout a dispensary so that visiting (and regular!) staff can actually find things is something that most of us have given more than a passing thought to. How is your dispensary laid out? Please let us know by ticking the relevant box in today's AusPharm poll at left.

New NPS Executive Managers appointed : 30/04/2008 :

The National Prescribing Service (NPS) announced yesterday that it has reorganised its internal structures and appointmented a number of new Executive Managers.
According to NPS, the new organisational structure will help NPS to better manage the needs of the community and stakeholders and position NPS for growth and continuing contributions to the Australian health landscape.

“The new executives are very experienced, with a diverse range of skills. I am thrilled we have such a high calibre team to help take NPS to the next level,” said NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes.

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Hate mail or 'flaming' : 29/04/2008 :

AusPharm has had feedback recently that some 'listers have received abusive 'off list' responses to AusPharmList posts they have posted.

While our 'civilised' approach to moderating isn't to everyone's taste, we believe it's had its benefits over the 12 years AusPharmList has been going. In the main, people feel 'safe' passing comment and younger members of the group, including undergraduate students, are frequent posters to the list.

Please, if you receive 'inappropriate' personal emails as a result of posting to AusPharmList, let us know and, if necessary, we'll take action against those responsible including removing them from the AusPharmList database, if this is indicated.

Tasmanian pharmacy software provider gets SA hospital contract : 29/04/2008 :

Tasmanian company Healthcare Software has been chosen by the South Australian Government as its provider of state-wide Pharmacy Information Systems.

Its PharmCare medication management software solution performs clinical functions required for the safe and effective management of medicines including decision support, adverse reaction alerts and the provision of medication counselling sheets for patients, pharmacists and GPs. IBA Health Group's iPharmacy will provide the administrative aspects including drug dispensing and inventory control.

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Quick quiz : the answer : 28/04/2008 :

Last week we asked 'listers what they thought the mystery object at right might be. Here's the answer as provided by one 'lister's methadone client.

"Container from vending machine, very popular during the 1990s for carrying drugs to and from court to goal.

Has remained popular to insert drug filled, into obvious personal receptacles (that cannot be legally searched) for those with reason to believe that they may be arrested at any tme or place (due to 1st instance warant or paranoia). NB **Very** uncomfortable.

If in custody, on trial, tobacco cannot be smoked in the court cells. Hence this container, and others like it, are more likely to have carried legal drugs (tobacco, papers, Valium etc) than exciting contraband."

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Celebs decry evidence on vitamin pills : 28/04/2008 :

This piece in Saturday's (UK) Guardian is worth a look.
"This week the assembled celebrity community and vitamin pill industry will walk us through the pitfalls of reading through a systematic review and meta-analysis from the Cochrane Collaboration, an international not-for-profit organisation set up 20 years ago to create transparent, systematic, unbiased reviews of the medical literature on everything from drugs, through surgery, to community interventions." Click here to read the article in full.

AACP Pfizer Consultant Pharmacist Award 2008 : 28/04/2008 :

The AACP Pfizer Consultant Pharmacist Award recognises outstanding contribution by an accredited pharmacist to the practice of consultant pharmacy. Nominees will have made a significant contribution to the practice of consultant pharmacy.

Details regarding the judging criteria and the nomination forms are available from the AACP web site, Members Resources page.
The award comprises a medallion and a travel grant to attend a pharmacy conference of relevance to the practice of consultant pharmacy. Nominations close on 1 May 2008.

Tassie School of Pharmacy wins Guild grant funding : 24/04/2008 :

The School of Pharmacy at the University of Tasmania has secured Guild CPA4 grant funding of $730,000 to conduct research projects on HMR evaluation, warfarin and asthma patient services in community pharmacy and the use of psychotropics in aged care.

The HMR research under the VALMER project team, led by Peter Tenni, is being conducted in close consultation with the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacists and it is hoped that it will assist in securing ongoing funding for the HMR program. This project will involve collecting approximately 1000 HMRs from over 200 pharmacists.

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Quick quiz --> yet more INCORRECT guesses : 24/04/2008 :

On AusPharm on Monday we, published the picture at right (larger version here) and asked: What is this? What is it used for? How is it used ? Where would you expect to find it? On offer for the 'neatest, most correct entry' submitted to us by this Thursday is one of our very elegant AusPharm calculators. We're also offering another one to the author of the most 'creative' answer. You must, of course, follow a (vaguely) pharmaceutical theme. We'll publish the winning entries and the solution next Monday.

We have to say there's been a lot of interest in this competition but, so far, only one response is close to the mark. Other INCORRECT guesses submitted yesterday were: 'I seem to remember odd floating objects to measure specific gravity, esp urine if infection, diabetes present.' and ...ahem... 'An anal dilator?'.

You have until midnight tonight (Thursday) to improve on the single *almost* correct answer we have so far!

Click here to lodge your entries.

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Poll result: do you label all the bottles? : 24/04/2008 :

This week's AusPharm poll asked 'listers how they label thyroxine which comes, as you know, in a box containing 5 bottles, each with 40 tablets. The result is shown below; just over half always label the internal bottles and about 40% never do. As a locum AusPharm tends to follow the 'local rule', whatever it is.
The rules and regs have it that we should be labelling the 'primary container' but in recent times it's become a little harder to determine what this is. For example, is the Somac package insert the primary container or is the primary container the outer box? Does it matter, anyway, that the Somac inner pack or the bottle of Oroxine or the Ventolin or the Nitro Lingual spray in the handbag are unlabelled?

Here's another reason to have a look at the April Australian Prescriber : 23/04/2008 :

Hearing loss and balance disorders can be caused by commonly used antibiotic ear drops if the patient has a perforated eardrum, writes Associate Professor Harvey Coates in the April edition of Australian Prescriber. These serious complications, the result of ototoxicity, may be more common than reported, as some cases are unrecognised.

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SIGMA and Metcash to team up? : 23/04/2008 :

There is good coverage in todays' newspapers of the news that Metcash and Sigma are investigating the possibility of jointly bidding for Symbion's consumer brands and pharmaceutical wholesaling assets.

There are links to a number of these stories in todays' AusPharm 'In the news' section.

SIGMA releases 2007/2008 annual report : 22/04/2008 :

Sigma Pharmaceuticals yesterday released its annual report for 2007/2008 ahead of its Annual General Meeting, scheduled for Thursday May 22. The report showed a 14% fall in net profit after tax on the back of a 10% rise in overall revenue and a 0.8% decline in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

 According to SIGMA CEO and Managing Director Elmo de Alwis results were in line with guidance and demonstrate a strong second half after a challenging first half charactereised by regulatory change and flat PBS growth. Mr de Elwis also cited heightened generics competition as contributing to the disappointing first half result in particular.

You can read the full Annual Report here.

Poll: do you label all the bottles? : 22/04/2008 :

In a post to AusPharmList yesterday Peter Allen refers to Sigma's new thyroxine packaging. He asks how (or whether?) people plan to label the individual blister packed strips that will be kept out of the 'fridge, away from the main medication container.

This got us to thinking about what 'best practice' is in labelling products with internal packs like thyroxine. We'd be interested in finding out how people label thyroxine. Please vote in this week's poll (at left) and help us find out.

In future weeks we'll put similar poll questions on asthma puffers and others.

More on compounding: Mark Feldschuh in Australian Prescriber : 22/04/2008 :

'Listers will have seen our story last week on the proposed new regulatory framework for 'compounding chemists' and PCCA's Jenny Giam's AusPharmList post on this yesterday.

Some of the issues that need be considered in any regulatory reform process are canvassed in an editorial in this month's Australian Prescriber authored by Victorian community pharmacist, Mark Feldschuh.

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PSA: pharmacy ready to help with 2020 Summit priorities : 22/04/2008 :

PSA National President Brian Grogan said yesterday that Australia's pharmacists were well placed to play a key role in the implementation of preventative health strategies, flagged as a priority by 2020 Summit delegates. "As the most accessible health providers in the community, I fully expect Australia's pharmacy profession will be a key player in implementing any new policies flowing from the 2020 Summit" he said

"Australia's pharmacy profession already plays a role in a range of key preventive health areas including smoking cessation and weight
management. Participants in the 2020 Summit's Health Stream stressed 'the importance of healthy lifestyles, health promotion and disease prevention' as among their 'Priority Themes' and Australia's pharmacies are already active in all three areas" said Mr Grogan.

Quick quiz : 21/04/2008 :

Here's a challenge for 'listers. What is this? What is it used for? How is it used ? Where would you expect to find it?Click here to see larger versions of the images.

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