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US Increases Naloxone Access to Combat Opioid Overdose Epidemic
In response to the increase in opioid overdose-related deaths, United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced the agency’s plan to increase access to naloxone in rural communities and expand access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Burwell announced the plan at a conference including representatives from the 50 states and Washington, DC,…
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Screening over-70’s for memory issues – what can it achieve?
An international panel has recommended all people over 70 be tested each year for problems with memory and reasoning. They claim that the goal is to detect treatable disease, to provide lifestyle guidance to slow cognitive impairment, to identify patients who may be struggling to understand their doctor’s instructions, and to allow patients and families…
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Telehealth and Telemedicine – Major Pharmacy Opportunities in Healthspot concept
Telehealth and telemedicine represent a significant opportunity for pharmacists and providers to partner on cutting-edge healthcare models, and pharmacy chains such as Walgreens and CVS are looking to embrace this technology in a big way. This new and quite disruptive technology (particularly for GP’s) has been adapted as a kiosk fitted with a range of…
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A Former Community Pharmacist Now a Practice Pharmacist- We Have a Q & A With Him
Clinical service pharmacists basically find themselves as a “divided bunch” and have an unclear vision for the future. Certainly they have been derailed by having their voice taken from them by the PGA/PSA controlled Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP), which incidentally, had its named changed from the original which had “pharmacist” in the title.…
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Intervention skills compromised
A new study in the Medical Journal of Australia doesn’t reflect on us all that well. How’s this for a statistic? “…..of patients admitted to hospital with broken bones following a fall, 85.4% were 65 years or older and had been prescribed a falls-risk medicine”. Does this mean that at some stage, 85 out of…
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Walk-In Clinics for UK Pharmacies
UK community pharmacies are considering the adoption of a US style “walk-in” clinic that involves collaboration with clinical nurse practitioners, to ease the burden on an overstretched NHS service. Walk-in centres were more likely to be used by those aged 16-45, with women slightly more likely to attend according to a recent Monitor review. Since…
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Practice Based Pharmacy – Is it the future direction for pharmacists?
Having recently shifted house, I am still locating items long forgotten. One of the many treasures I stumbled upon was an 1890 formulary for pharmaceutical chemists, containing a myriad of formulations, for a myriad of problems and many of which I became intimately acquainted with during my apprenticeship. Formulas and directions for making Syr Ferri…
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Medibank moves to emulate US health insurers – New Funding Models Needed!
Health insurance in the US has always been a contentious issue because of its limitations and high cost. Because of the cost factor it often formed part of a benefit in a salary package with the employer, better able to access to negotiate and manage health insurance discounts. Aggregation through a multiple of employees gave economic…
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Paracetamol – not so safe?
One of the most common questions I’m often asked relates to the safety of natural medicines with warfarin therapy. Many theoretical issues occur within a test tube environment, but the word “warfarin” sends many pharmacists into a spin. Misunderstanding and misinformation about the interaction between omega-3 fish oils and warfarin has been topical since Adam…
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Patients First – A Unique Recruitment Process Underpinning Clinical Services Development
i2P has published many articles over time relating to clinical services and the strategy for recruiting patients. The basic concept has been first to recognise that pharmacists, in their consumer mix attract both customers and patients, and that the primary strategy to sustain core business is building a customer base plus having a marketing process…