pain management
‘Silly’ decision won’t curb codeine misuse
Upscheduling codeine-containing preparations to script only is unlikely to address issues of misuse and abuse, stakeholders say A spokesperson for the Pharmacy Guild told the AJP today that the TGA’s …
Record fine for RB over Nurofen Specific Pain range
Reckitt Benckiser has been given a record fine for making misleading representations about its Nurofen Specific Pain range The Full Federal Court has upheld an appeal by the Australian Competition …
MedsASSIST tops 4 million transactions
More than four million transactions have now been recorded in MedsASSIST, the Pharmacy Guild says. As of yesterday (21 November) the codeine real-time recording and monitoring system had clocked up …
Upschedule codeine to reduce misuse: Canadian pharmacist
Making it prescription-only is likely the best way to address misuse and abuse in both Canada and Australia, he argues Jesse MacKinnon, who has just published an article about OTC codeine …
‘Nobody has developed a relationship with me.’
Pharmacists “defensive and antagonistic” about gatekeeping codeine, says chronic pain sufferer Chronic pain sufferer Jackie has been sent home after surgery without pain relief, threatened with police removal and had …
‘Codeine road trips’ less likely, but there’s still a way to go
The number of stories such as the tale of “Britney,” who reportedly goes on cross-border trips to buy codeine, are likely to have plummeted since the introduction of MedsASSIST, stakeholders …
Codeine decision an opportunity as most take up MedsASSIST
The TGA’s long-awaited decision on the scheduling future of currently-OTC codeine-containing medicines – whatever that decision may be – will be an opportunity for pharmacy, says a pain expert. Joyce …
Aussies ignorant on opioid addiction, but not pharmacists
A huge proportion of Australians believe negative stereotypes about people with opioid addictions, but pharmacists are, for the most part, a significant exception. So says Bee Ismail, CEO of ScriptWise, …
Weekly Dose: Fentanyl, the anaesthetic that may have been used as a chemical weapon on Chechen rebels
Weekly Dose: fentanyl, the anaesthetic that may have been used as a chemical weapon on Chechen rebels Nial Wheate, University of Sydney Fentanyl is a synthetic analgesic (pain relieving) drug …
Mindfulness and meditation better than opioids?
Could mindfulness and meditation be more powerful than opioids for lower back pain? The University of Queensland School of Psychology’s Dr Melissa Day is conducting a project that will test that possibility. “Chronic …
Four reasons codeine should be S4 – but Guild disagrees
A pain specialist and researcher says there’s no evidence of benefit from current codeine-containing OTC products – and that “we can’t have a drug of abuse available over the counter”. …
Poll results: pharmacy supports MedsASSIST
The AJP’s poll on codeine monitoring tool MedsASSIST have shown that Australian pharmacy strongly supports the program. Last week we asked, “Is your pharmacy using MedsASSIST?” after posters in our …