pain management
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 …
Why I’m losing codeine sales
If you’re not using MedsASSIST, you’re helping neither patients nor pharmacy, writes Samantha Kourtis Since MedsASSIST was rolled out and I decided to use it in my pharmacy, I’ve experienced …
Guild responds to opioids feature
Pharmacy Guild executive director has written to the editor of The Good Weekend to congratulate the magazine on its article, The Pain Killers. The feature article, by Stephanie Wood, told …
Poll: Is your pharmacy using MedsASSIST?
Is your pharmacy using MedsASSIST? With the TGA yet to make its final decision on codeine – which its website says will be made after this month – some codeine-containing …
Morphine can double pain duration
Instead of helping to overcome chronic pain, morphine can more than double the duration of pain, as well as amplifying its severity, according to new international research involving the University …
Opioids have minimal benefit in low back pain
New research from The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney has found that opioid painkillers, commonly used in low back pain, provide minimal benefit. The findings …
Pharmacists invited to help hack pain
Sydney has just had its first pharmacy hackathon, and now it’s set to see the world’s first hackathon for Chronic Pain, where organisers hope to develop a minimum viable prototype …
Real time monitoring best chance to curb codeine misuse
ASMI and the Pharmacy Guild say real-time monitoring of OTC codeine containing analgesics, in addition to a range of other targeted measures including mandatory warning statements, reducing pack sizes and …
Schedule changes didn’t dent codeine misuse
Changes made to OTC codeine combination products in 2010 failed to make a dent in the growing misuse of the products, a new study has found. But the new codeine …
Pain not being managed with scattergun approach
Prescribers are handing out ‘Endone like lollies’ but pain management remains inadequate, says a pain expert—but pharmacy can help Queensland pharmacist Karalyn Huxhagen, winner of the 2015 PSA Award for …
Opioid misuse: ‘Endone has become the new Panadol.’
In hospitals Endone has become the new Panadol and Australia is going down the same path as the United States when it comes to opioids, say doctors. The doctors were …