pain management
Inadvertent harms
The SHPA and Pharmacy Guild are among stakeholder groups which have endorsed Palliative Care Australia’s new position statement on access to opioids Palliative Care Australia released the position statement, Sustainable …
Green light for GSK/Pfizer acquisition
The ACCC has announced that it will not oppose GSK’s proposed acquisition of Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business in Australia The proposed acquisition combines only the over-the-counter side of the two …
Surgery leading to opioid risk
More than 13,000 Australians each year may be at risk of developing a persistent opioid habit following elective surgery, according to a BMJ study New research has quantified the number …
Forced tapering and cessation: opioid consequences
Australian pain stakeholders have spoken out about the unintended consequences of limiting opioid prescribing, as the US makes new recommendations on the matter The US Food and Drug Administration has …
Research Roundup
Debbie Rigby takes a look at the latest in research news Understanding Cholesterol Therapy: An Update for Community Pharmacists Elevated total and LDL cholesterol predispose patients to an increased risk …
What happened following the codeine upschedule?
PBS data shows no evidence of increased opioid prescribing in the year after the codeine reschedule, with overall opioid use trending down, according to ongoing research It’s been over one …
‘It will take courage to face the failure of our current drug policies.’
NSW Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has called for a drug summit, attention to real time prescribing, better access to drug substitution programs and better pharmacy takeup of naloxone She …
Clinical tips: medicinal cannabis
Louis Roller has the lowdown on medicinal cannabis Cannabis (Cannabis sativa and others) is a plant that contains over 500 natural components, of which some 80 are cannabinoids. The main …
Man slammed for buying ice but not analgesics
A man who brought a screwdriver to a pharmacy to demand painkillers was suffering from an infection in his foot, a court has heard Shane Roger Kellow was looking for …
Pollies back pharmacists in harm minimisation
Politicians from the three major parties have spoken out in support of the role pharmacists can play in reducing harms from licit and illicit drugs Speaking at the launch of …
Research Roundup
Debbie Rigby rounds up the latest in research news Physical functioning and mindfulness skills training in chronic pain The importance of improved physical function as a primary outcome in the …
Codeine: what a difference a year makes… or does it?
As the low-dose codeine upschedule loomed, predictions were made of an increase in crime, an increase in scripts for stronger opioids, and patients left in pain… but did it happen? …