opioids
The role of pharmacists in pain management
All pharmacists have the opportunity to start conversations with their patients about pain, and about their analgesic medications, writes Benita Suckling Working in an opioid stewardship role, I’ve witnessed first-hand …
‘Wake-up call’ for real time monitoring
Pharmacy and medical bodies have written to the TGA, calling for national script monitoring to be implemented urgently In its consultation paper on options for a regulatory response regarding prescription …
Changes to S8 pack sizes on the cards?
PSA and SHPA are at odds with the Guild in their support of changes to pack sizes, while some pharmacists have voiced concerns about stock management, logistics and cost The …
Oxycodone 20-packs too much for majority
Smaller oxycodone pack sizes and an enhanced role for pharmacists are part of a model being suggested by Melbourne researchers Dr Megan Allen and colleagues from the Royal Melbourne Hospital …
‘Start those conversations’
Pharmacy 777 and ScriptWise are urging pharmacists to speak with patients about the risks associated with long-term use of benzos and opioids As part of ScriptWise’s inaugural National Prevention of …
SHPA to target opioid-related harm
The first landscape survey of hospital pharmacy practice for Australians post-surgery has been launched by the SHPA The organisation says this is its latest initiative aimed at harnessing the expertise …
World news wrapup: 10 May 2018
Pharmacy crime rampant in Ireland; counterfeit drugs epidemic in Trinidad and Tobago; Walmart’s new measures to combat opioid crisis Dublin, Ireland: President of the Irish Pharmacy Union Daragh Connolly has …
World news wrapup: 26 April 2018
More jobs for those willing to skip lunch; US pharmacist fights to clear his name; Prince’s family sues a hospital and the Walgreens pharmacy chain Birmingham, UK: A local agency …
Don’t follow America: finding a better treatment model for opioid overuse/abuse
US harm minimisation proponent Silver Damsen compares Australian and American approaches to the treatment of opioid abuse As an American drug treatment reform activist, I want to commend moves to …
E-health and minimising script harms
A group of experts are calling for clear legal principles around how a duty of care looks in the age of electronic records Dr Jennifer Stevens, Anaesthetist at St Vincent’s …
Is cannabis one answer to the opioid epidemic?
New US research shows cannabis laws are associated with a significantly lower rate of opioid prescribing A cross-sectional study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Internal …
Prescribing slow-release opioids can be fatal, college warns
Health professionals have been warned about the risks of prescribing commonly used opioids such as fentanyl patches The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) has written to 34 …