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A4M Proposes a $1 trillion health cost save for US – why not Australia?
The American Academy for Anti-Ageing (A4M) is a medical group researching and treating the ageing process through utilising the concept of Integrative Medicine. They have come up with a simplified 10 point proposal designed to slash major costs from the health bill in the US – they say reductions of up to $1 trillion are…
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The Patient Proposition
I am wondering if there are any pharmacists out there who have ever created a written proposal to recruit patients to your practice. The reason I ask is that so many pharmacists in their communications with each other or with other health professionals, talk in terms of having “customers”, with the word “patient” appearing spasmodically…
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Developing a Single Patient View
From the last business cycle to the current version, pharmacists and community pharmacies have undergone some profound experiences and rapid change. The transition to now is leaving in its wake a sense of indecision and while many opportunities have arisen to improve pharmacist skills and community pharmacy development, only a small number of talented individuals…
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Value Over Profit ?
When pharmacy comes under financial pressure it always looks for a “quick fix” and it usually takes the form of concentrating resources and focus into various retail channels of activity. Even though pharmacists are criticised for expanding their retail offering and daring to create survival profits, it is a necessary activity to ensure that the…
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Fracture – are we involved enough?
The Journal of Internal Medicine has published some views on hip fracture. The statistics behind this unfortunate and common injury is ignored as we dispense bisphosphonates to many of our female patients – fearful of the adverse effects after reading about them, and fretting after getting feedback from their friends. Do we do enough when…
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Coincidence?
Medical media recently has highlighted the bad news for back pain sufferers – analgesic don’t work! As reported in 6minutes newsletter to GPs, “NSAIDs such as ibuprofen are no better than placebo. And perhaps do more harm than good.” The news release goes on to say that “previous research has already demonstrated that paracetamol is…
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What can we learn from Thyroid Pharmacist?
It was just over a year ago, when I was starting out in a busy suburban pharmacy as a professional services pharmacist, when I noticed something a bit weird…literally every second person I spoke with for about a full week was on thyroxine tablets. I stared back at these patients. A lot of them were…
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Do we exclude our oldest customers?
People over the age of 85 are significantly more likely to suffer social exclusion than those in the 65 to 85-year-old bracket, according to new research. We know that a loss of social contact can damage physical and mental health, and furthermore, older people are more likely to need care from external providers. Let’s look…
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Health Self Service in Kiosk Format
Self service through health kiosks has had a presence in Australia for at least 15 years, but it does not seem to have a high profile in the pharmacies in which it is promoted. Possibly because it is viewed as a “no win” situation because it is rarely used to generate a new revenue stream…
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The Desensitised Culture
It’s time for a new prescription The community pharmacy is fighting to survive amid aggressive price disclosures, high expenses and pressures from wholesalers. Yet, the treatment of slashing costs and pushing discounts only focuses on the symptom of financial turmoil, rather than treating the root cause of the problem. The financial turmoil facing the pharmacy…