TGA joins global operation to seize of fake and illegal medicines : 08/10/2012 :

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) together with Customs and Border Protection recently took part in an international operation to seize counterfeit and substandard medicines purchased over the Internet.

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Call for submissions: Post-market review of products used for diabetes management : 08/10/2012 :

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) has commissioned a review of products and medicines used for diabetes management.

The objective of the review is to systematically evaluate the body of clinical evidence regarding diabetes interventions to ensure the most appropriate management of diabetes in clinical practice.

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New funding announced to boost rural and remote health workforce : 08/10/2012 :

Two new projects aimed at boosting the health workforce in rural areas were announced by the federal government last week.

The first project will aim to recruit an additional 387 nursing and allied health workers across the country. The other will see the roll out of eight projects across Australia to look at ways to improve education networks to allow doctors to continue advanced medical training relevant to the needs of remote and rural locations.

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Online registration opens for final year pharmacy students : 08/10/2012 :

Pharmacy students who will graduate soon can now apply online for provisional registration as a health practitioner. However, the Board is alerting students, all applications require them to submit some supporting documents in hard copy by mail.

Pharmacy Board of Australia Chair Stephen Marty said graduates must make an application for provisional registration to undertake a Board approved period of supervised practice in order to be eligible for general registration in Australia.

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'Listers way over the minimum on CPD requirements : 05/10/2012 :

This week's poll asked 'listers how many Group 2 CPD credits they had achieved during the last 'Board' year, 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012.

The result suggests that 'listers are a very diligent lot when attending to their professional development responsibilities, with most respondents exceeding the 30 credit requirement for the year with their Group 2 points alone.

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Sydney Uni Faculty of Pharmacy Dean reappointed : 05/10/2012 :

Professor Iqbal Ramzan has been re-appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney.

Commenting on the reappointment, Professor Stephen Garton, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: "The Vice-Chancellor and I believe that Professor Ramzan is the best person to lead the faculty forward and to build on the strong foundations which have now been established in Pharmacy. The Vice-Chancellor therefore offered Professor Ramzan reappointment and I am pleased to advise that he has formally accepted."

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Plibersek: pharmacies an important link : 05/10/2012 :

As reported on AusPharm on Wednesday, to coincide with the FIP Centennial Congress, currently underway in Amsterdam, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport convened an international summit for Ministers of Health on the theme ‘The responsible use of medicines. Setting policies for better and cost-effective healthcare’.

Australia Health Minister Tania Plibersek, in attendance, said at the conclusion of the summit that she sees community pharmacies as a very important link in any move to improve the PBS and pledged to work hard on her return to Australia to increase the responsible use of medicine.

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An app for PAC : 04/10/2012 :

Delegates to PAC 12 will be able to access an interactive version of the Congress handbook via a PAC12 smartphone app.

The PAC12 app allows delegates to set up a schedule of sessions they want to visit, as well as being kept up to date with all the latest developments through hourly updates.  Another feature is the events section where delegates can view the program and automatically send selected events to be downloaded into their personal attendance schedule.

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Poll: how many Group 2 CPD credits? : 03/10/2012 :

Commenting that he just got across the line just before Sept 30 with his required number of

Pharmacy Board CPD credits, Tasmanian pharmacist David Peachey wrote in a post to AusPharmList yesterday: "The reason for posting was to suggest a poll re CPD point accumulation over the 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2012 period to see what the 'average' was - do most aim for the board requirements, or do most try to get as many as possible?"

Bearing in mind that 50% or more need to be Group 2 credits (ie assessed, more than simply reading or listening...) a more meaningful poll might be to ask how many how many Group 2 credits people managed in the period.

How many did you chalk up? Please let us know by ticking the relevant box in today's AusPharm poll.

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MIMS Monthly Medicine Update : 03/10/2012 :

The MIMS October 2012 Monthly Medicine Update is now available. Click the link to read it now.

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US$500 billion in global health spending can be avoided annually through more responsible medicines use : 03/10/2012 :

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 50% of medicines are not taken correctly - they may be prescribed or dispensed inappropriately and patients may take them incorrectly. This is in addition to those patients who do not receive the right medicine, or any medicine in a timely manner. These circumstances exemplify the fact that medicines are not always optimally used, resulting in a significant loss of health and increase in healthcare expenditures, contributing to high growth of healthcare spending. With more responsible medicines use, research from the IMS Institute shows that $500 billion US in global healthcare spending could be avoided annually.

On the occasion of the FIP Centennial Congress, currently underway in Amsterdam, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is convening an international summit for Ministers of Health on the theme ‘The responsible use of medicines. Setting policies for better and cost-effective healthcare’.

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Medicines Australia welcomes PBS deferral moratorium extension, however.... : 03/10/2012 :

Medicines Australia said on Friday that a Federal Cabinet decision to extend the moratorium on Cabinet deferrals of the listing of some new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to June 2014 is positive, it does not provide a lasting solution to a policy issue that has been widely criticised by consumer groups, as industry, doctors, academics and the media.

The moratorium applies only to medicines that will cost the PBS less than $10 million a year. Those with a projected cost of more than $10 million will still require Cabinet approval.

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eHealth training initiative announced : 02/10/2012 :

A new national education program funded through the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement will be commencing in October to support community pharmacies to increase their understanding and awareness of electronic transfer of prescriptions.
 
The Electronic Transfer of Prescription (ETP) Education Program aims to educate the community pharmacy workforce about Electronic Medication Management and specifically the role of ETP in Australia’s eHealth landscape.

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August PBS numbers released : 02/10/2012 :

PBS statistics for August 2012 were released last week by Medicare Australia.

They show decreases in both script numbers (-3.1%) and dollars (-6.4%) compared to August 2011.

Script numbers from 1 January 2012 to 31 August 2012 were 143.4 million, up 5.4% on the equivalent period in 2011 (136.1 million). In dollar terms the increase was 6.3% ($6.03 billion v $5.67 billion).

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Shingles cases on the rise : 01/10/2012 :

The herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles, is becoming more common as the population ages. In Australia the number of cases has doubled between 2000 and 2010. Hospital emergency departments report a 2–6% increase in cases per year.

Writing in the October edition of Australian Prescriber, Professor Dominic Dwyer and Dr Michael Wehrhahn, infectious diseases specialists at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, say the recent rise in shingles cases is probably due to a number of factors, and urged more widespread uptake of the herpes zoster vaccine in adults.

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Medicines Australia welcomes PBS deferral moratorium extension, however.... : 01/10/2012 :

Medicines Australia said on Friday that a Federal Cabinet decision to extend the moratorium on Cabinet deferrals of the listing of some new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to June 2014 is positive, it does not provide a lasting solution to a policy issue that has been widely criticised by consumer groups, as industry, doctors, academics and the media.

The moratorium applies only to medicines that will cost the PBS less than $10 million a year. Those with a projected cost of more than $10 million will still require Cabinet approval.

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Online CPD for rural pharmacists : 29/09/2012 :

CPD points are mandatory for all pharmacists, but those “in the bush” do not always have access to face-to-face CPD lectures. 

Acknowledging this, Combined Universities Centre for Rural Healthy Assistant Professor Amy Page has put together a comprehensive list of what is available online.

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Pharmacists working harder than 5 years ago : 28/09/2012 :

This week's AusPharm poll asked pharmacist to tell use how many scripts are dispensed per pharmacist day in their pharmacies.

The results, shown below, tell us that most pharmacies produced results in the 100-200 range with significant minorities in the 50-100 range (14%) and the 200-250 (14%) range.

Significantly, there has been a trend towards larger numbers since we ran the same poll (albeit with very slightly different options) in 2006.

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Wait 7 years before taking new drugs : 28/09/2012 :

Before taking any new drug, you should wait at least seven years from its date of release, writes Sidney Wolfe, Editor of Worst Pills, Best Pills News, in an editorial in the October issue of Australia Prescriber.

Unless it is a rare ‘breakthrough’ drug that offers a clear therapeutic advantage over older proven drugs, he writes, it’s worth waiting this amount of time for the information about adverse effects to catch up with the information about benefits.

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TWC introduce asthma support program : 28/09/2012 :

During September Terry White Chemists’ launched its Asthma Friendly Pharmacy Program with a goal to have Asthma Pharmacists in each of the chain’s 160+ pharmacies.

According to the group, more than 50 TWC pharmacists and pharmacy assistants have already completed intensive training with Asthma Australia.

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