The week in review
The Federal Budget drew ire from pharmacy groups on a number of fronts, while some pharmacists were recognised with top awards Budget sees “opportunity squandered” With the 2022-23 Budget handed …
Wesfarmers gives tick to pharmacy model
API acquisition will form the cornerstone of a new $10 billion Wesfarmers health division, company reveals The acquisition of wholesalers Australian Pharmaceutical Industries by retail giant Wesfarmers has finally been …
Finding the way forward
In the second part of our interview, pharmacist and MP Emma McBride discusses working to achieve full scope of practice and her thoughts on the future of pharmacy and healthcare …
Depression and antidepressants
Pharmacists have a crucial role in supporting patients living with depression by providing advice and counselling about pharmacological treatments and recommending various strategies to assist these people to improve their …
Chronic pain and opioids: Pain program prompts practice change
An innovative opioid education program is helping pharmacists feel more confident to raise issues like opioid harm—as well as discuss alternative treatment options with their patients. The NPS Medicinewise program1 was …
Chronic pain and opioids: How to talk tapering
Knowing how to begin patient conversations about opioid tapering can be challenging so NPS MedicineWise offers some practice tips to get the conversation off on the right footing. Use the …
Chronic pain and opioids: Carers must be opioid aware
With opioid literacy an ongoing problem, Carers Australia is urging pharmacists to play a more active role in identifying carers of people relying on opioids for pain relief, and to …
Shingles needs a shake-up
A campaign aims to make Australians shingles-aware — and one group says pharmacists could help. A new campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the signs, symptoms and risk …
Headache and migraine: Make some headroom
Pharmacists can make a difference to the burden of headache and migraine, given research shows GPs aren’t adequately trained and 50% of patients haven’t even been properly diagnosed. The 2020-21 …
Psychology of pain: COVID makes life worse for chronic pain patients
Lockdown stress has hit chronic pain patients hard but those with more resilience, flexibility and acceptance have coped better, research finds. Chronic pain patients experienced increased pain, anxiety, depression and …
Thought leadership: Pain and the functional medicine pharmacist
Functional medicine provides an opportunity for pharmacists who are looking to extend their role beyond the dispensary and toward fee-for-service consultations in clinic rooms, writes pharmacist and functional health coach …
Children’s pain: Suffer little children
Despite its prevalence, children’s pain is poorly understood, often ignored and under-treated, say pain experts in a new report. Undertreated, unrecognised or poorly managed pain in childhood leads to important …