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Australian Vaccination Policy and Autism/Chronic Illness
Since I publicised my graduation in December 2015 there have been many inaccurate stories written about my research in the mainstream media. Most of these stories and comments have been made by journalists who have presented statements from my thesis out of context and used labels such as ‘conspiracy theory’ and anti-vaccination’ to influence the…
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Australian Research Illustrates a Reason for Irrational Skeptic Behaviour
In last week’s edition some of our staff writers put together an article that featured Australian research on Asperger’s syndrome and the behaviours associated with that condition. That article was titled “People with high autistic tendencies see the world very differently, and a Swinburne magazine summary of their research is found here: What started out…
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MedsASSIST May Prove To Be A Useful Long Term Monitoring Tool
The MedsASSIST system, designed to monitor pharmacy sales of codeine products, has reached the stage of progressing to stage two of a pilot, involving approximately 150 pharmacies in the Newcastle and North Queensland regions. The system is being introduced because government was intending to reschedule codeine to schedule 4 (prescription only) status. Addiction to prescription…
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Collaboration- What does it mean for health professions?
The new “buzz” word floating around the health professions is “collaboration”. In the same breath it is linked to other expressions such as “patient-centred homes” or “patient-centred neighbourhoods”. But what does it all mean – particularly when referenced in respect of community pharmacy? Starting with the dictionary terminology we find collaboration means: 1. “the action…
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There is Nothing Right About This Onslaught
It is time the pharmaceutical community should wake up and become aware of some of the biased agendas surrounding them. One of our specialist writers, Dr Judy Wilyman PhD has been surrounded by controversy because she dared to select as her PhD thesis subject “A critical analysis of the Australian government’s rationale for its vaccination…
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A Home Doesn’t Need to Have a Single Roof – Because it Might Need to be a Neighbourhood
The “buzz words” floating around the newly discovered world of primary health care are “Patient-Centred Homes”, a concept where a focus is generated on a patient through a triage process where patients are provided an efficient sequential introduction to the health resource most required by those patients under the one roof. Results to date in…
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Antibiotics – are we doing out bit?
Reduced antibiotic prescribing is associated with lower patient satisfaction on the national General Practice Patient Survey, according to a new study by King’s College London. The NHS GP Patient Survey is a component of the NHS Quality Outcomes Framework that informs GP’s pay-for-performance. Do we support our local GP’s decision not to prescribe an antibiotic?…
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The Paris Attacks – an Impetus for Community Pharmacy to be an Emergency Triage Point
Recently, I have written two articles relating to triaged services from a pharmacy environment and how community pharmacy could be integrated into a public emergency system. In these articles I made the proposition that Location Rules night have more meaning if pharmacies were able to be strategically located throughout Australia because of the need to…
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Mandatory Over-Vaccination Bill likely to pass in Australia
The Australian Senate Inquiry into the ‘No Jab No Pay’ legislation which will remove parents choice in the number of vaccines they use in their children (up to 20 yrs of age) for the receipt of welfare payments, has been passed by the Australian Senate. This is despite the thousands of submissions against this policy…
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Our Thinking and Thought Leadership is Reflected
I2P has long espoused that community pharmacy has deep roots embedded in patient centering and engagement and has won all of its “stripes” on the basis of all the things that our antecedents did right. Those “roots” were responsible for our unique style of “over-the-counter prescribing” as well has building a market in compunded prescriptions…