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Unprecedented Attacks on PGA Post-ANAO Report
“Australian pharmacy is in a death throe whether you are an accredited consultant or a community pharmacist and the PGA has been the spectacular lobbying body that has brought us to this point.” This is just a sample of one of the many comments currently circulating since the publication of the ANAO audit report after…
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Doctor Groups and CHF Deliver Collective Criticism of Pharmacy
About forty years ago I found myself in a vigorous debate with Greg Haines, the pharmacy historian. He made the claim that pharmacy had never initiated major changes to its professional foundations and that such change had always been initiated by the medical profession, or the government or both in unison. These days when doctors…
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News Ltd – QUM – Profitless Prosperity – and get in line to join the chorus of dissent
The “profitless prosperity” that those millionaire pharmacists, owning pharmacies they are currently trying to keep afloat, have my sympathy. They are being savaged by the millionaire Murdoch Press who are deliberately stirring up and distorting images of pharmacy that are blatantly false – and they know it! What does it say about their professionalism? As…
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Post ANAO Report – the way ahead.
In his State of the Union address on 20 January, 2015, President Barrack Obama said: “I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine—one that delivers the right treatment at the right time.” And crucial to achieving that reality, said experts who addressed the 2014…
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Taking Pressure Away from the ED Lloydspharmacy Model
The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in Greater Manchester has partnered with LloydsPharmacy to trial an innovative new pharmacy-led clinic at its busy North Manchester General accident and emergency department. As A&E departments across the country face unprecedented demand and continuing pressures, with mounting patient numbers attending for all sorts of conditions and complaints, the…
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Print your own medicine – a $9 million 3D printing research and development hub opens in Melbourne
If I was back in my early 40’s, and including the energy levels I had back then, I would certainly not be wasting my time about the latest political “spin doctoring” from pharmacy organisations or government. It is so much a waste of time. I would be looking to harness the latest in scientific research and…
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Management Consultancy Practices, Best Doctor Service and Establishing Pharmacy Clinical Services
As an accredited management consultant, it is common practice to seek second opinions from a variety of other consultants depending on their specialty. Before I retired from my management consultancy practice we had to have a method to train other consultants economically and productively. To do this we had a number of “in-house” activities where…
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Electronic Shelf Labelling – a Nucleus for your own Local Area Marketing System
Developing technology for retail shelf pricing is being presented in an e-paper format. Originally, this type of labelling was invented using LCD displays, but it was fuzzy and indistinct, with an inability to handle graphics, logos etc.A new version known as ESL (electronic shelf label) uses a combination of e-paper and e-ink. This new system…
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Saving Health – and Pharmacy if you can find it
I don’t know whether this is unique just to me or because I have a long and clear memory of pharmaceutical events since my entry to the profession in 1956. But I get very angry when I see a national TV program supposedly involving all of “health” where none of the participants are pharmacists! Nada!…
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Medical Marijuana – a Role for Clinical Pharmacists?
Medical Marijuana may provide a role for for trained clinical pharmacists which could evolve remarkably and prove rewarding in multiple ways. Pharmacists are not only trained to safely supply sensitive drugs, but also to educate patients in their safe use. Primarily it could provide a solution for many patients suffering from chronic neurological pain. These patient types seem to be…