Pharmacists Role in Patient Self-Medication

Pharmacists have always played big part in recommending OTC products to help patients deal with their health issues. By asking their patients appropriate questions, pharmacists can learn when self-medication is appropriate or referral is needed. The types of OTC products available provide the pharmacist with very effective products to recommend. And with the switching of products from legend drug status to OTC, the availability of effective drugs will only increase. Schools of pharmacy now make OTC education an important part of pharmacy education. Today’s pharmacist has the training to make OTC product recommendations and he or she is comfortable in that role. So as this pharmacist role is promoted and pharmacists become more available to the patient, their role and influence will grow.

Elderly and sedatives

Elderly people taking one or more anticholinergic or sedatives have a significantly higher risk of falls, highlighting the importance of medication reviews.

Diet medicines under review

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) product listing of diet and weight loss pills is under scrutiny after a CHOICE review found many contain active ingredients with no proven efficacy.

No pain relief for API

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) yesterday reported a first-half loss of $35 million. CEO Stephen Roche said “the number of issues is the greatest I’ve seen in my career in a six-month period”, with the company being hit by the Queensland floods, weak consumer spending and increased competition in the sector. The pharmaceutical sector has also suffered by cuts in government funding, with Mr Roche saying, “We’ll deal with further PBS reforms as we confront them".

Folic acid CVD benefits in doubt

Doubts are being raised about the benefits of lowering elevated plasma homocrysteine levels with B vitamins, after a meta-analysis showed they did not reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Women's cardiovascular outcomes

Women with stable angina or acute coronary syndrome have higher mortality than men because they have thicker arteriolar walls and a greater diffusion radius relative to body surface area, an Australian study in the journal Hypertension has concluded.

Medicine misuse

With growing numbers of consumers misusing medicines, there a suggestion for a pharmacy shopper alert system to identify OTC drug abusers.

Sanofi-Aventis wins the votes

Pharmacists across Australia have voted French drug producer Sanofi-Aventis the most outstanding pharmaceutical company for 2010.

Testosterone Gel

Researchers reported that topical testosterone gel replacement reduced insulin resistance and glycated hemoglobin in men who were deficient in the hormone.
According to Hugh Jones MD of the University of Sheffield in England "This was the first large placebo-controlled study to show that testosterone replacement in hypogonadal men with metabolic syndrome or diabetes improves insulin resistance and glycemic control." Low testosterone is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes in men. Up to one-third of men with type 2 diabetes are testosterone-deficient, due to aging or treatment for prostate or testicular cancer. Moreover, glycated hemoglobin levels were cut by half a percentage point after six months of treatment, Jones said during a presentation here at at the Society for Endocrinology annual meeting.

Obesity drug market in decline

Poor efficacy and negative side effects will have a detrimental effect on the sale and development of obesity drugs, according to a forecast by Datamonitor. Obesity is partly the result of lifestyle factors, such as exercise, diet, and increases in the proportion of sedentary jobs. The market for anti-obesity drugs has proved far more difficult to conquer than most companies expected. In 2006, that market segment generated sales of over $1300m worldwide. There have been problems in marketing products, with concerns over safety and efficacy having a negative impact on sales. There have been major disappointments, but some commercial opportunities remain.

SSRIs and pregnancy

The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pregnancy, particularly sertraline and citalopram, may increase a baby’s risk of septal heart defects. A population-based study of 493,113 children born in Denmark between 1996 and 2003, published online in the British Medical Journal, found that the odds ratio for septal heart defects was 3.25 for sertraline, 2.52 for citalopram, and 1.34 for fluoxetine.

Smoking while pregnant

One in six women smoked while pregnant and one-fifth of Australian children were overweight, according to the latest snapshot of the health of the country's children. Tobacco smoke contain carcinogens. The current view on cancer is that carcinogenicity is a stochastic effect, where various environmental factors trigger the development of cancer. While exposure to a carcinogen increases the probability of cancer, the process remains random.

Pharmacy Expo 09

Pharmacy Expo is a three days of networking, education and innovation in pharmacy.
Visitors who register online will receive an automated E-Ticket. If you are unable to book online, you can simply register on the day. Visit us at Hall 4, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. Open 8.30am to 5pm on Friday 12th and 9am-5pm on Saturday 13th June & Sunday 14th June.

Electronic scripts errors

It has been found that computerised prescription systems used by pharmacists were causing errors and leading to inconsistent information, according to a new study carried out in the United States.

Forced sell of Pharmacy Direct

Coles was forced to sell Pharmacy Direct its cut-price pharmacy chain, which was bought for $48 million in 2006 with annual sales turnover of $35 million. RX Direct Pty Ltd, a company owned by the pharmacist members of the Terry White Chemists Advisory Board, had bought Pharmacy Direct from now.com.au Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Wesfarmers, which owns Coles. The business, changed hands for less than $15 million. Pharmacy Direct, a mostly online chemist that Coles bought two years ago, was not owned by a pharmacist, hence it breached the Pharmacy Act. National president of Pharmacy Guild of Australia Kos Sclavos has been opposing Coles's ownership since 2006 and had been fighting it in court until he won.

PBS drugs price cuts

THE Health dept has announced that several PBS drugs will be subject to price reductions on 01 Aug 2009, due to the first round of the new disclosure regime. The system, introduced as part of the PBS Reform package, gives the govt total transparency in PBS pricing, allowing it to achieve savings on behalf of taxpayers. Reductions, based on data collected from manufacturers during during 2008, will apply to the following medications:
- doxorubicin (down 63.54%)
- meloxicam (-22.46%)
- mitozantrone (-34.42%
- ondansetron (-15.37%)
The Pharmacy Guild welcomed the price cuts, with president Kos Sclavos saying it’s conservatively estimated the move will save the govt $13m a year in PBS outlays. However no reduction will apply to six other drugs subjected to price disclosure: amisulpride, fluconazole, fosinopril sodium.