No GP S8 prescription ban: TGA
There is no substance to reports that GPs could be banned from prescribing S8 analgesics, the TGA says Over the long weekend, Fairfax and News media reported that the TGA’s …
Pain trial ‘a great move forward’
The $20 million Pain MedsCheck trial is about ensuring pharmacy is at the frontline of primary care, says Greg Hunt Last week, the Health Minister announced a Pain MedsCheck trial, …
The week in review
Pain was on the agenda this week, as the disagreements about codeine continue On Thursday, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced a $20 million initiative, run through community pharmacies, to help …
‘An open invitation to health fraud.’
A proposed Therapeutic Goods bill would give unproven medicines a “free kick” and undermine pharmacy professionalism, one critic says Friends of Science in Medicine and other stakeholders are concerned that …
Media reports could have pushed stockpiling
More than a fifth of codeine users are currently stockpiling the drug, new research suggests myDNA conducted research to find out how many Australians are using over-the-counter codeine-containing analgesics, ahead …
Counsel methadone patients on drug driving, pharmacists urged
The omission of methadone from drug driving laws has been questioned by Drug-Safe Communities following its implication in a fatal Boxing Day crash On December 26, a 50-year-old man who …
MedsCheck for pain to be trialed
Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced a $20 million trial program to help people suffering chronic pain, to be run through community pharmacies The Guild and PSA have welcomed the …
World news wrapup: 25 January 2018
NZ body slams codeine upschedule; UK pharmacists helped to spot radicalisation; Chicago plagued by ‘pharmacy deserts’ Lincolnshire, UK: A pharmacy in Sleaford is the first in the UK to provide …
PBS faces decade of negative real growth
The Guild’s prediction that the $18.9 billion figure in the 6CPA would not be delivered has come true, executive director David Quilty says Writing in this week’s edition of Forefront, …
Codeine claims and counter-claims
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy and the University of Sydney’s Peter Carroll have gone head-to-head on Radio National debating codeine efficacy and implication in overdose The two spoke to the …
Post-surgery opioids and misuse
A new study has shown that each refill and week of opioid prescription is associated with a large increase in opioid misuse The study, published in the BMJ, aimed to …
OTC codeine death claims ‘must stop’
Pharmacy Guild NSW Branch president David Heffernan has hit out at recent claims about deaths associated with OTC codeine, saying they defame pharmacists In a message to NSW Guild members, …