CSO wholesalers confident for April 1 : 21/03/2012 :

CSO wholesalers say that, despite the surge in pharmacy orders expected on 1 April, they will be able to meet pharmacy's delivery demands on that day.

Many pharmacies will run down stocks prior to the PBS price reductions on April 1 and then place large orders on April 1. According to the wholesalers, the wave of orders will be a major test of the Community Service Obligation (CSO) Agreement which requires wholesalers to deliver the full range of more than 6,000 PBS medicines anywhere in Australia within 24 hours in return for their chunk of the CSO.

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New IP legislation will encourage medical research : 21/03/2012 :

New legislation overhauling Australia’s patent system will encourage medical research and bring Australia into line with intellectual property systems in other OECD countries Medicines Australia chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw said yesterday.

The Raising the Bar Bill, which was finally passed in Federal Parliament last night, introduces a “research use exemption” which will allow scientists to conduct research on patented inventions without infringing those patents.

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Poll: continued dispensing, a good thing? : 21/03/2012 :

The legislation underpinning the 5th Agreement 'continued dispensing' initiative recently passed through parliament and was hailed by stakeholders.

At APP2012 Health Minister Plibersek said the initiative was 'good for patients' and the Guild said that the passage of the legislation would mean that 'all Australian health care consumers will benefit'. Guild President, Kos Sclavos, said: 'Pharmacists always have the highest regard for their close working relationships with doctors, and the Guild is confident this limited measure will ensure the best outcomes for patients.'

What do you think? Is this a win for patients? Or is it all hype? Please let us know by voting in today's AusPharm poll.

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CPExpo signals beginning of new CPD paradigm : 20/03/2012 :

The opportunity to participate in an exciting new era in pharmacy professional development and practice support is a step closer with the opening of registrations for the Clinical and Practice Expo (CPExpo).
 
In a strategic decision, CPExpo moves away from the traditional trade exhibit model style event.  The decision was made based on member feedback that this type of format was not meeting their needs.  CPExpo therefore aims to enhance the educational and practice experience through incorporating an integrated learning space as part of the event.

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Consultation on advanced pharmacy practice : 20/03/2012 :

The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework Steering Committee (APPFSC) is a profession-wide collaborative forum, working on initiatives which are linked to the national competency standards for pharmacists.

The APPFSC, chaired by Dr Shane Jackson, has released a Consultation Paper on Advanced Pharmacy Practice and is inviting members of the pharmacy profession to provide comment.

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Guild: pharmacies will ensure continuity of supply : 20/03/2012 :

Community pharmacies and the broader pharmaceutical industry are working together to ensure continuity of supply of PBS listed medicines at the time of significant price changes on 1 April, says the Pharmacy Guild. Its comments are in response to media reports that medical groups have accused pharmacies of abrogating their professional responsibilities on supply for commercial reasons.  

Price reductions for many PBS medicines to take place on 1 April have created stock management challenges for all pharmacies, wholesalers, and manufacturers.

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Protest at Chemist Warehouse(s) in solidarity with striking Sigma workers : 19/03/2012 :

A group of students from Monash University last week staged a protest in a Chemist Warehouse store in support of striking National Union of Workers members.

Sigma employees and the union are currently locked in battle over working conditions with wholesaler Sigma at its Rowville warehouse.

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April 2012 PBS schedule : 19/03/2012 :

The April PBS Schedule is now available

Download the Full PBS schedule

Download the PBS Summary of changes

Download the Efficient Funding of Chemotherapy – S100 Arrangements Supplement

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RGH E-Bulletin: Preadmission clinic pharmacy services : 19/03/2012 :

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Preadmission clinic pharmacy services.

"In an effort to reduce the potential for in-hospital drug-related problems, RGH and many other hospitals have established a preadmission clinic (PAC) patients are assessed prior to admission for elective surgery. This approach has now become a routine service at RGH, aiming to provide anaesthetic and surgical assessments of patients prior to surgery. The clinic serves as an opportunity to educate patients, to allow access to allied health professionals, to obtain patient information relevant to the surgery, to anticipate any problems and to plan for a smooth discharge"

Click here to read the bulletin in full. The E‑Bulletins are archived on the AusPharmList website here.RGH E-Bulletin: Clostridium Difficile Associated Diarrhoea (CDAD) & PPIs

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Two NSW pharmacists honoured at record making weekend : 19/03/2012 :

Last weekend was especially significant for pharmacy with the 2012 NSW Annual Therapeutic Update being held at the Fairmont Leura in the Blue Mountains with a theme of ‘Escape to the Country”.

Running over three days and attracting almost 250 delegates, the weekend attrected record attendance with today’s clinical and primary care workshops.

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2012 Pharmacy of the Year: Cape York Guardian Pharmacy : 17/03/2012 :

As reported last Friday, the Cape York Guardian Pharmacy in Weipa, Far North Queensland, is the QCPP Pharmacy of the Year for 2012. 

Here's the video presentation proprietor Scott McCahon put together for the occasion.

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APF has its place : 16/03/2012 :

As noted in this week's poll preamble the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF) is at the top of the list of the Pharmacy Board's 'List of References' guideline.

This week's poll tells us that even though most respondents don't use their APF all that often they still see a place for it in their professional lives - 'it has its uses'.

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CDU students all signed on with PSA : 16/03/2012 :

Charles Darwin University (CDU) has initiated an innovative scheme under which it will pay for all its pharmacy students to join up with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
 
The Pharmacy School at the CDU is the first to offer its students this benefit, which acknowledges the value of the early integration of upcoming pharmacists into the broader pharmacy community.

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Last days to register for the Brisbane accreditation standards workshop : 15/03/2012 :

The Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) is currently undertaking a review of the Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Degree Programs. The Accreditation Standards are applied to pharmacy schools in Australia and New Zealand and govern the quality and content of pharmacy programs.

To ensure that the review process involves wide consultation from a broad range of stakeholders, a number of public consultation workshops have been scheduled in Australia and New Zealand over the next few months. Through this process the APC is seeking feedback from the pharmacy profession including preceptors, interns and pharmacy students. 

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April 1 PBS schedule : 15/03/2012 :

Watch this space on Monday.

We'll have a link to the April PBS schedule, including details of all the new (lower) prices.

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The Guild: 'We are Community Pharmacy' : 15/03/2012 :

Those of you who were at APP (all 4,000 of you) will have viewed with interest the video that ran in the lead up to each session, showcasing community pharmacy.

For those of you who weren't there, here it is.

Dover Pharmacy, from which the first AusPharmList email went out on January 31, 1996, gets a run about 4 minutes in.

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Swisse case not settled yet : 15/03/2012 :

The Swisse case for an injunction against the publication of the Complaints Resolution Panel (CRP) report requesting the withdrawal of its TV ads was up for consideration in the Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday. Hearing of the merits of the case was put off pending a full trial scheduled for Friday week, March 23, 2012.

The CRP agreed to continued suppression of its report until close of business on that date. While the CRP's report has been taken down from its website, AusPharm understands that a cached version of the report may still be accessible via Google.

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Earn 16 CPD credits online with NPS : 14/03/2012 :

NPS has launched its first online Pharmacy Practice Review, offering pharmacists the opportunity to reflect on their practice and provide current evidence based advice to patients prescribed a statin and/or ezetimibe.
 
The online activity builds on the 2011 paper version of the activity, Pharmacy Practice Review: Reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. When using the the online version pharmacists immediately receive tailored feedback and individual patient management plans to support ongoing care for their patients.

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PIDG: April 1 price reductions not expected to cause drama : 14/03/2012 :

As part of PBS reform the Government agreed in 2011 to the creation of a stakeholder group, the Pharmaceutical Industry Discussion Group (PIDG), to discuss the potential and actual impacts of PBS pricing reform, including the April 1 PBS price reductions. The group, whose membership includes the Guild, wholesalers, consumers and the generic manufacturers, was asked to identify and examine potential unintended consequences of the reforms.

The report of the first PIDG meeting, tabled in Parliament yesterday, notes that no unintended consequences of reforms implemented had so far beene reported to the PIDG. It added however that concerns have been expressed around the possible impact of the 1 April price reductions.

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Poll: how often do you refer to the APF? : 14/03/2012 :

The Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF) 22nd edition has just been released. It's top of the list on the Pharmacy Board's 'List of References' guideline.

With the release of APF22 it seems timely to ask whether the APF is something you actually use in your practice as a pharmacist.

Please let us know by voting in today's AusPharm poll.

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