Clinical
Scheduling changes on the way
New Pharmacy-Only medicine scheduling changes announced to antihistamine and laxative medicines The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed the move to create a schedule 2 (Pharmacy Only) category for a …
Wrong chart used in ACF, followed by patient’s death
Unsafe medication practices at a residential aged care facility were “significant,” a coroner says in findings into an elderly woman’s death The 81-year-old Queensland woman had several health conditions, including …
Pharmacists urge breaking of ADHD barriers
Two pharmacists have represented the SHPA in advocating for the role of pharmacists in supporting patients with ADHD The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia’s Jerry Yik and Natalie Tasker …
More support for medication reviews
Call for more targeted pharmacy interventions to boost efforts in groups at-risk of medication related issues New Australian research has shown that medication review by pharmacists can boost identification and …
Support for new S3 listing
Pharmacy Guild and other groups voice support for a new Schedule 3 listing for celecoxib The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and other peak health stakeholder groups have supported a decision …
The steady growth of mirtazapine
Use of mirtazapine in aged care facilities has been steadily growing – but is it always appropriate? This is part one of a focus on the use of antipsychotics and …
Reducing polypharmacy deaths
Overdose deaths in Australia are “driven by the pharmaceuticals” – and pharmacists can play a key role in helping reduce some of these deaths Around half of deaths from overdose …
PSA updates guidelines for salbutamol, terbutaline inhalers
Pharmacists key to supporting asthma patient to move away from relievers and toward preventers, PSA leader says Updated treatment guidelines for pharmacists supplying salbutamol and terbutaline inhalers to patients with …
September MIMS Update
We look at some of the recent changes to the medicines landscape, with new indications and contraindications New Indications Dapagliflozin (propanediol monohydrate) (Forxiga) is now indicated in adults for the …
Labelling problems revealed by study
Incidence of incorrect labelling on dose administration aids a ‘common bugbear’ for hospital staff A recent Australian study has revealed a high prevalence of incidents relating to the labels on …
Tackling deprescribing concerns: pharmacists raise awareness
If a patient is making jokes about taking so many medicines they “rattle”…could they be open to deprescribing? Many older people are less resistant to deprescribing than a lot of …
HIV meds now free or subsidised through hospital pharmacy
Privacy and certainty are among two key considerations in recent changes, which mean hospital pharmacists can dispense free or subsidised HIV treatment for people without Medicare Changes to HIV treatment …