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Balanced view in professional opinions
The new-look Australian Journal of Pharmacy heralds a interesting direction in medical marketing and related advertising. The front cover and inside two pages tell us that Panadol Osteo is “Australia’s No 1 pain reliever brand for osteoarthritis”. Pharmacists insist on “evidence” when discussions emerge on other options for arthritic pain, and accordingly, may I supply…
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The Australian Government’s New Childcare Package
The Australian government’s recently proposed childcare package has mandated the ‘full’ schedule of childhood vaccines (up to the age of 19) in order for families to receive government welfare benefits of $15,000. This package has removed the right of parents to refuse any of the 12 vaccines recommended for infants if they wish to receive…
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Macquarie Uni Resumes Chiropractic Courses
In what must be a major upset for The Friends of Science in Medicine, Macquarie University has decided to reinstate chiropractic courses to degree levels once more. Two years ago, the president of the FSM, Professor John Dwyer approached Macquarie University with a proposal to exchange the chiropractic courses with research grants in the biomedical…
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Pharmacy as a Diabetes Information Resource – Really?
AccentHealth collected data in the US through an online survey conducted over a single week, to give a snapshot of where, and from whom, information on diabetes and advice was obtained Participants responded via AccentHealth’s national, online panel of network viewers, and the survey yielded 520 respondents who were at least 18 years of age,…
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COSBA Support for Pharmacists Owning Pharmacies
Peter Strong is the name of the chief executive of the Council of Small Business of Australia, and he was invited to address the National Press Club recently about Australia’s economic health. Given that political parties of all flavours acknowledge small business as being the driver of employment and innovation within Australia’s economy, it was…
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Professional images?
I’m still trying to cope with the image of a pharmacist announcing that he was “binning the crap” or words to that affect, as he proudly announced that he no longer wanted to keep homeopathic medicines. That is his decision and is to be respected, but why would he make a goose of himself, especially…
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Half of All Children Will Be Autistic by 2025, Warns Senior Research Scientist at MIT
Editor’s Note: In our last edition we ran information pertaining to Homeopaths and the NHMRC committee investigating the effectiveness of this modality. A number of inconsistencies and procedures were highlighted as the NHMRC appeared to be manufacturing a report to conform to certain extreme views of some medical groups, rather than a true evidence-based approach…
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Are Your Consumers Customers or Patients?
It seems that as pharmacies become more corporate in nature and larger in total business transacted, the concepts of pharmacy are tested, with the view of providing more financial benefit to the owners, either in the format of paying lowest possible wages to employed pharmacists, illegal removal or manipulation of award requirements (such as meal…
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The Gap Report & Its Opportunities
Self Care has been a platform of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia for as long as I can remember. It is good that it is at last receiving government recognition, particularly as it so easily fits a platform of patients taking responsibility for their own care and that the education required for patients is a…
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Weasel words, fuzzy phrases and other chiro “cons”
Claims advertising therapeutic services, unless supported by high level evidence, can mislead. With many chiropractors suggesting that spinal manipulation can alter the course of childhood diseases, why do regulators duck for cover? If you believe that you are being misled or deceived by a chiropractor, you can complain to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency…