The Medical Innovations Bill

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 31, 2015 | Blog

Cancer patients are now able to be prescribed investigative drugs if they are terminally ill. Currently this is the only disease to be included, but this may change in the future. More and more terminal patients choose to be treated at home.  What will this mean for...

Essential or not Essential?

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 31, 2015 | Pharmacist

What do you think? Do you want the Medicines Use Review (MURs) and New Medicine Service (NMS) to become essential services? There is a view that the government may reduce fee to deliver the services over time if they are.  The pharmacies with no consultation room may...

Distance Selling Pharmacy Workshop “DSP“

by Ryan Watts | Mar 27, 2015 | Distance Selling Pharmacy

What you must do  must provide the full range of essential services during opening hours to all persons in England presenting prescriptions; cannot provide essential services face to face; must have a responsible pharmacist in charge of the business at the premises...

Scared!?!

by John Finey | Mar 24, 2015 | Blog

In the next few lines I am probably going to show myself up as a bit of a chicken, and certainly demonstrate a dubious taste in ‘music’. I have been reminded over the last couple of days of a ‘song’ (if you have heard it you will know why I have written it as ‘song’)...

Logistic Company GDP trained?

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 24, 2015 | Training, Transportation

Are the drivers of your logistics company GDP trained if the deliver medicines for you to your customers or to another wholesaler? What would you train them in and why? We recently were asked to deliver training for these important team members. Where did we start? We...

Responsible Person Challenges

by Ryan Watts | Mar 24, 2015 | Blog, Bona Fides

The roles and responsibilities of the RP is becoming tougher, the roles can be delegated but  not the responsibility thus the activities need to be delegated in a very clear and concise way to the team member who is tasked with carrying out the role. The RP must...

Pfizer, Lipitor and the business of big Pharma

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog

The saga continues here in Australia where the Australian Competitor and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has logged an appeal to the Federal Court over their anti-competitive case against Pfizer. This all stems back to early 2012 as the patent for Lipitor, a large market...

Can community pharmacy, GPs and nurses handle the treatment of Hep C?

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog

It was announced this week that Hepatitis Australia has recommended to the Government to allow community based prescribing and dispensing of Hepatitis C medications.  This would mirror the current treatment for people living with HIV and would move these patients into...

The reality of pharmacy ownership in Australia

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog

In Australia pharmacy ownership is unique.  You must be a pharmacist to own a pharmacy and the Pharmacy Guild, a member organisation of pharmacy owners, negotiates directly with the Government for the way pharmacies are remunerated.   This is the model we know in...

Travel Clinic

by Jackie (née Heneghan) Peck | Mar 19, 2015 | Blog

Travel medicine has evolved out of a need to keep the traveler safe and healthy without destroying the joy of travelling.  Health professionals including pharmacists, GP’s and nurses are well placed to ensure that the traveler is well informed about the health risks...