Rigby resigns from PSA Board : 26/08/2008 :

In a move certain to disappoint pharmacists around Australia, just months into its first term, Debbie Rigby has resigned as a Director of the Board of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

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Bill's on his way to FIP 2008: Basel, Switzerland : 22/08/2008 :

AusPharm's roving reporter Bill Arnold is on his way to FIP in Basel, Switzerland next week. He had a stopover in Johannesburg on the way.

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So you arrive in Johannesburg on your way to Switzerland at the end of next week with a stuffy nose after a 14 hour flight and, the next morning, decide you need a decongestant / antihistamine combination. Starts with D?

In the very nice Sandton City Centre is a Clicks pharmacy. It is a group / franchise / company, reminiscent to me of our Priceline concept. Trolleys and baskets at the entrance, checkouts massed merchandise.

But wait. At the back, a very professional area the width of the store. Left half Prescriptions; right half Self Medication (see photo below). Each side has a queuing system. For prescriptions, no come back in xxx minutes, you actually stand and chat while a pharmacist processes, gets and labels product, bags and tags, then next please. And look (above) at the services they offer.

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Labelling of items with multiple packs: PDL, Boards respond : 13/08/2008 :

Last week's AusPharm poll determined that a significant proportion of pharmacists label scripts for 120 Panadeine Forte by sticking either three or six boxes together and affixing ONE label to the resulting 'outer'.

In our poll analysis on Friday we said that we'd see about getting comment on the poll result from both PDL and the Boards. John Coppock, PDL Chairman, has responded to our request, as has NSW Pharmacy Board President, Gerry McInerney. We were also able to get an 'unofficial' comment from one of the other Boards.

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Guild President calls for pharmacist 'Medication Continuance' : 24/07/2008 :

In a speech to the National Press Club yesterday Guild National President Kos Sclavos called for the introduction of pharmacist 'Medication Continuance'.

Mr Sclavos pointed out that just 20 medicines, used to treat a number of chronic conditions, make up 45 million prescription (or 25 per cent of all claimed PBS items) each year. “For these medicines, once a doctor has initiated therapy, it is our view that a pharmacist should be able to continue that therapy for up to 12 months,” he said. "Some would view this proposal as pharmacist prescribing, but we see it as Medication Continuance.”

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Guild appoints new CEO : 22/07/2008 :

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia yesterday announced the appointment of Wendy Phillips, pictured at right, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ms Phillips has been part of the Guild team since 1992 when she was recruited as the Director of its Strategic Policy Division. In 2006 she was promoted to the newly created position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Guild President Kos Sclavos said of the appointment, “I am very pleased to announce that we have chosen Wendy Phillips to serve the Guild and its members in this crucial position. Wendy has overseen the development of many major Guild policies, which have been aimed at increasing the recognition of the health care role of pharmacists and the value of the current network of community pharmacies to the Australian health system.

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Peterson calls for action on codeine based compound analgesics : 18/07/2008 :

2007 Australian Pharmacist of the Year, Professor Greg Peterson, pictured at right, has called for the establishment of a Project STOP like recording and monitoring system for codeine based compound analgesics.

Professor Peterson's call comes a week after a poster presentation at the Public Health Association's annual conference in Brisbane reported an alarming number of cases of injury caused by ibuprofen toxicity secondary to codeine dependence, including 39 cases of perforated stomach ulcers and 15 cases of renal failure.

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Preview the new 'Ask your pharmacist' TV ad : 11/07/2008 :

A new 'Ask your pharmacist' TV advertising campaign starts on Sunday and will run for three weeks on free to air TV (Channels 9 & 10) and for four weeks on subscription TV. The campaign is supported by in pharmacy point of sale material, a pharmacy assistants' competition and magazine articles.

The campaign, by Sanofi-Aventis, builds on the very successful Gold Cross Branding Campaign conducted in September/October 2008 that raised awareness of the Gold Cross as a symbol of Pharmacy. Over 75% of people surveyed after the campaign, reported that pharmacies were a source of trust, service and advice.

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Eli Lilly hit with $60,000 fine over Cial*s Once Daily 'advertisement' : 30/06/2008 :

Back in early May we reported that Melbourne academic Dr Ken Harvey had lodged a 'Code of Conduct' complaint with Medicines Australia over an Eli Lilly media release that prompted a flurry of media reports (eg here) on the new Lilly product Cial*s ® once a day. Consumer organisation CHOICE lodged a similar complaint with Medicines Australia at the time.

The substance of the complaints was that while the press release purported to release as 'news' a company commissioned piece of research that supported the use of the drug it was, in fact, promotion of the prescription drug Tad*lafil to the general public.

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A portent of what's around the corner? : 17/06/2008 :

As if the 4CPA Location Rules weren't complex enough, and as we approach the negotiating period for a Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement, the attached pic, taken by our eagle-eyed cub reporter, outside the Pharmacy Guild National Offices in Canberra may be a portent of what's around the corner - but by the truckfull !!!! Click the link to see full sized versions of the photos.

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July 18 - patient medication shortages on the way? : 13/06/2008 :

As has been widely reported in recent days it seems that the Department of Health and Ageing never got around to enacting legislation requiring wholesale prices of F2T drugs to be available to pharmacies at the 'new' (lower) prices from July 18.

It is therefore possible that not all F2T drugs will be available to pharmacies at the 'new' prices from July 18. Further, in order to minimise financial loss, it is possible that wholesalers will minimise stock levels of some items leading up to August 1, possibly leading to out of stocks. The extent to which this will occur remains unclear and the extent of any impact on patients unable to obtain medications also remains unclear.

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The colour from ConPharm '08 : 04/06/2008 :

As we reported yesterday ConPharm '08 was a great success with nearly 300 accredited pharmacists and those interested in medication reviews attending. There was a sense of excitement and a united purpose ie using "knowledge rather than fingers".

A wide range of speakers and topics provided education at a level appropriate for pharmacists providing professional services. The optional workshops on INR monitoring, motivational interviewing and palliative care (speed dating in palliative care) offered some advanced specialised training.

 In today's (e)news we've featured a series of photos of the event and two recorded interviews, one with AACP CEO Bill Kelly and the other with VALMER project pharmacist Andrew Stafford. (Photos and interviews courtesy Kevin de Vries).

Correction: in yesterday's ConPharm report we attributed the photo of conference delegates to Kevin. This was incorrect - it was taken by Adelaide's Event Photographers.

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ConPharm’08 a tremendous success : 03/06/2008 :

300 delegates gathered in Adelaide last weekend for the fourth annual ConPharm consultant pharmacy clinical seminar.

The weekend provided many exciting educational opportunities for the assembled pharmacists with topics covering the new ‘analogue’ insulins, the use of drugs in renal disease, palliative care, gastrointestinal disorders, COPD and more.

Conference delegates are shown below - click the photo to see a full sized version (1.65mb .jpg) (photo courtesy Kevin de Vries).

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1960 NSW Pharmacy Qualifying Exams results : 01/06/2008 :

Thanks to all those who sent in their thoughts on what was 'the best interpretation' of Q2 in the 1960 NSW Pharmacy Qualifying Exams. You can see the original question here.
We've decided to award two prizes, one to Peter Bayly for his effort and another to Rollo Manning for actually doing what the question in the exam paper asked for (although not what we asked for). Other entries were very close to this but missed the (implied but not stated) essential Pulv Trag Co qs.

Click the More...... link to see both their efforts and the actual 'answer' as provided to AusPharm by Bill.

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Calling all Old Pharts : 27/05/2008 :

We've had a couple of entries in so far for our competition but just to make sure all you OFs have plenty of opportunity to have a go at this we've extended the deadline for entries until SATURDAY night at midnight.
Here's a challenge for those of you with an eye to history.

In today's (e)news we've republished the first 2 pages of the 1960 NSW Pharmacy Qualifying Exams. An AusPharm pen to the best interpretation of Question 2(a) returned to us by midnight THURSDAY night.

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Will I be in the Yarra Valley next March with ACPPM? : 22/05/2008 :

Absolutely, says AusPharm's roving reporter Bill Arnold.
At last week's Australian College of Pharmacy Practice and Management conference on Norfolk Island the scope of topics delivered and the presenters' abilities were well matched according to Bill.

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APESMA goes after the Guild on GP Super Clinics : 21/05/2008 :

The Pharmacists' Division of The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists & Managers, Australia (PDA) issued a statement yesterday welcoming the PSA GP Super Clinic position statement and rejecting as 'alarmist nonsense' the position the Guild presented to its members in its 15 May National Newsletter.

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Where was community pharmacy? : 20/05/2008 :

On a less positive note community pharmacy and its representative organisations were reported to be largely 'missing in action' at last week's National Medicines Symposium.
A 'lister (and frustrated community pharmacy owner) who *was* there sent along the following comments.

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Apotex wins judgment in Coversyl promotional campaign dispute : 12/05/2008 :

'Listers may recall an editorial we published in April last year that asked whether the stamp at left, that had been 'made available to' about 3,000 doctors by Coversyl manufacturer Servier, was 'legal'.Well, it seems we now have an answer. No, it's not.

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Roger MacGregor - I do it my way : 30/04/2008 :

The winner of this year's Rural or Small Pharmacy Pharmacy of ther Year prize, announced at the recent APP2008 conference, was pharmacist Roger MacGregor whose pharmacy is at Sinnamon Park in Queensland.
Roger has recently refitted and re-arranged his pharmacy in a quite unique way, focusing on health 'modules' rather than using the traditional pharmacy method of arranging stock in 'sections'.

Roger is shown above telling his story to APP delegates. Click the More... link to see a photo or two of what Roger's done in his pharmacy and to listen to an interview Irwin the evil chemist did with him at APP, in which he explains the philosophy behind his idea.

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SIGMA releases 2007/2008 annual report : 22/04/2008 :

Sigma Pharmaceuticals yesterday released its annual report for 2007/2008 ahead of its Annual General Meeting, scheduled for Thursday May 22. The report showed a 14% fall in net profit after tax on the back of a 10% rise in overall revenue and a 0.8% decline in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

 According to SIGMA CEO and Managing Director Elmo de Alwis results were in line with guidance and demonstrate a strong second half after a challenging first half charactereised by regulatory change and flat PBS growth. Mr de Elwis also cited heightened generics competition as contributing to the disappointing first half result in particular.

You can read the full Annual Report here.

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