drug misuse
‘New kids on the block’ pose fresh risks
Leading addiction specialist warns about emerging misuse of non-opioid prescription drugs including quetiapine, gabapentinoids and ADHD medicine There are some “golden oldies” that are familiar when it comes to pharmaceutical …
Reducing the risk of violence
Pharmacy and medical groups have hailed legislation to introduce real time monitoring in QLD, although some have expressed concerns over potential patient backlash Queensland Minister for Health Steven Miles has …
Minister challenged on pharmacist naloxone role
The Health Minister has announced a commitment of $7.2 million to pilot a take-home naloxone program in Australia – but there’s no mention of pharmacy This week Greg Hunt announced …
A vision of harm reduction
Could pharmacies dispense ecstasy and recreational cannabis in the future? One stakeholder believes they should But it’s not about “green-lighting” recreational drug use, says Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted …
‘Most widely misused’: benzos, opioid analgesics
A new report tabled in Victorian Parliament has highlighted misuse of pharmaceuticals as the leading cause of drug-induced deaths in Australia The Victorian Parliament’s Law Reform, Road and Community Safety …
Banned for stealing and possession
A pharmacist has been disqualified from reapplying for registration after using his position to obtain restricted drugs, and covering up the evidence through fictitious transactions A 41-year-old pharmacist has been …
Research Roundup
Debbie Rigby examines the latest in research news Dual antiplatelet therapy: how, how long, and in which patients? Dual antiplatelet therapy is a crucial therapeutic intervention in patients with stable …
Real time monitoring: your say
Victoria has opened a public consultation on the proposed regulations to support SafeScript, the real-time prescription monitoring system Minister for Health Jill Hennessy has released the proposed Drugs, Poisons and …
Guild to doctors: Join us
Doctor groups need to join the Guild to drive the implementation of real time monitoring, says David Quilty In this week’s edition of Forefront, Pharmacy Guild executive director David Quilty …
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 …
“Wilful disregard of his professional obligations”
A NSW pharmacist dispensed up to 52,000 OxyContin 80mg tablets to a single patient in one year, and nearly 150,000 over four years The pharmacy owner, who cannot be named …
Prescription pharmaceutical misuse on the rise
Misuse of pharmaceuticals is now responsible for more deaths than illegal drugs, new data show A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Non-medical use of pharmaceuticals: …