Clinical Pharmacist news feed

Some higher-potency statins linked with diabetes

Tracey McNerney — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:54:40 +0100

Taking certain higher-potency statins could put patients at a higher risk of developing diabetes than taking lower-potency statins, a BMJ study indicates (online, 23 May 2013). Over a 14-year study period, researchers in Canada analysed database records for over 470,000 patients with no history of diabetes who were newly treated with a statin for primary or secondary cardiovascular...

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The medicines optimisation revolution gathers pace

Editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:02:01 +0100

Medicines optimisation is a term with which many readers will be familiar. For the past couple of years it has been a well publicised concept used to describe how pharmacists, and other professionals, can improve patient outcomes by helping patients get the most out of their medicines. Although medicines optimisation is not just an agenda for pharmacy, the profession is ideally placed to lead...

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Ways to embed medication safety in pharmacy practice

Editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:15:04 +0100

It is well recognised that medication incidents account for a substantial proportion of patient safety incidents 1,2 and that pharmacists in all sectors of healthcare are central to delivering safer medication practice.3,4 Pharmacy staff at all levels of practice need to embed medication safety into their day-to-day work, and the training and development they receive must support them in this...

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The Faculty is for you

Editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:14:17 +0100

Pharmacists’ roles have evolved considerably since my days as a consultant physician and senior lecturer in east London in the 1980s at the time when local formularies were first being developed. My interest in pharmacy originates from the period when I chaired Newham’s district medicines committee, which included both hospital and community pharmacists. I appreciated then the pivotal role...

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Macmillan survey highlights cancer drug errors

Tracey McNerney — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:38:22 +0100

Over 10,000 cancer patients in England could have been given the wrong drugs in hospital, according to new research from Macmillan Cancer Support, which aims to highlight which hospital trusts need to make significant improvements in the patient experience they provide. The charity’s National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2013 — due out in June — extrapolated the figure from a YouGov study...

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