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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has introduced a new prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which is said to benefit around 400,000 women who suffer from negative symptoms of the menopause in England. PPC will be rolled-out from 1 April and it reduce the HRT costs to less than £20 a year. Women prescribed HRT - the main treatment for menopause symptoms - will have access to a new scheme enabling access to a year's worth of menopause prescription items for the cost of two single prescription charges (currently £18.70). As part of commitments to reduce the cost of HRT for menopausal women, the prescription PPC will be valid for 12 months. It can be used against a list of HRT prescription items, and a patient can use this against an unlimited number of HRT items, such as patches, tablets and topical preparations. There will be no limit to how many times the certificate can be used while it is valid. "The introduction of the certificate delivers one of our year one priorities for the Women's Health Strategy for England. Published last summer, the strategy sets out an ambitious new agenda for improving the health and wellbeing of women and girls and to improve how the health and care system listens to women. Menopause was announced as a priority area within the strategy," said DHSC.

Medical professionals often prescribe semaglutide to patients who have type 2 diabetes. Along with a balanced diet and regular exercise, it has also shown to be an incredibly efficient weight loss aid for patients. As the active ingredient in well-known brand-name drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus, semaglutide is currently on everybody's lips. But what exactly is semaglutide? Does it really work for weight loss? We'll find an answer for you in this article, and explain the main benefits of using semaglutide for weight loss. What Is Semaglutide? A number of diabetic and weight loss medications, including Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus, have semaglutide as their active ingredient. This substance is a synthetic form of the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), that occurs naturally. Developed by the company Novo Nordisk, semaglutide was first approved by the FDA in 2017 as an injection for the treatment of adult type 2 diabetes (as part of the approval procedure for Ozempic). In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved a novel semaglutide form known as Rybelsus. Rybelsus was the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the United States.

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee expects the next round of negotiations to set the arrangements for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2022/23 - Year 4 of the five-year CPCF deal, to begin soon. The negotiator held a meeting on November 24 and 25 to discuss the burning issues affecting the sector and to plan for upcoming negotiations with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I). It aims to complete these negotiations by April, allowing ample time for contractors to make arrangement prior to the beginning of the financial year. PSNC vice-chair, and independent contractor, Bharat Patel said the entire sector is worried about the "outlook for pharmacies as we head into a difficult winter," and is working to find solutions. He noted that PSNC "will be bringing proposals for additional funding and support, particularly around the treatment of 'walk-in' patients, to the table, along with a heavy dose of realism for government and the NHS about the current challenges in the sector." While expecting a difficult round of discussion with the government, Patel remained optimistic about a favourable outcome for pharmacies.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)'s diagnostic advisory committee has recommended the use of HM-JACKarc or OC-Sensor quantitative faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) in a draft guidance release for consultation on Wednesday (5 July). Under existing NICE guidance, FIT was already offered to some people presenting to primary care with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer, while others were immediately referred on the suspected cancer pathway. The new draft guidance will now see everyone receive a FIT. A sample is sent in the post to a laboratory where the amount of blood in the faeces is measured. The results are usually available within a week and people with 10 or more micrograms of haemoglobin in their faeces should then be referred for further investigation. Further assessment using colonoscopy, or CT colonography, is required to diagnose cancer. The tests cost between £4 and £5 per sample, and can correctly identify about 9 out of 10 people with colorectal cancer. The committee agreed it is important that GPs can refer people for colonoscopy without a positive FIT result if they think it is necessary and where symptoms persist. The institute believes that the recommendation of the tests should reduce the number of unnecessary colonoscopies, thus freeing up appointments for more non-urgent referrals. This should lead to 50% fewer referrals for urgent colonoscopies being made by GPs in primary care settings each year.

The VAT penalties regime has had substantial changes with effect from 01 January 2023 and it is important for community pharmacy business owners to take note as this is a crucial cash inflow for most. Below we explore the changes that will impact all VAT registered community pharmacy businesses. Old regime Prior to 01 January 2023, VAT registered businesses that failed to file their VAT returns or pay any VAT liabilities would be subject to the default surcharge regime. There would be no surcharge for NIL or repayment VAT returns which would apply to most community pharmacy businesses. New regime For VAT periods starting on or after 01 January 2023, the default surcharge will be replaced by a new VAT penalties and interest regime if you submit your VAT returns late or pay your VAT liability late. If you pay your VAT monthly or quarterly, the deadline for filing your VAT return and paying any VAT liabilities is one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the respective period. For example, if you are filing the VAT return for the month or quarter ended 30 June 2022, the deadline for filing will be 07 August 2022. The liability must also be paid and cleared by that date.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised booster vaccination to be offered this autumn (2023) for those at higher risk of severe Covid-19 in its interim advice to government on the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme for 2023. The JCVI also advised that for a smaller group of people, such as those who are older and those who are immunosuppressed, an extra booster vaccine dose in the spring should also be planned for. Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 vaccination on the JCVI, said: "The Covid-19 vaccination programme continues to reduce severe disease across the population, while helping to protect the NHS. That is why we have advised planning for further booster vaccines for persons at higher risk of serious illness through an autumn booster programme later this year. We will very shortly also provide final advice on a spring booster programme for those at greatest risk."

From July 2022, Manage Your Services (MYS) portal will be the only route available for pharmacy contactors to submit all new prescription returns/referred back items and disallowed items, reminded the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). Contractors will be able to view and submit the required information for all these items only through the MYS portal. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) will send out a notification email from July (for the dispensing month of June) to the pharmacy NHSmail account if any new referred back or disallowed items have been generated for the contractor to complete on their MYS account. "Contractors can view any referred back items for completion by checking the 'Unpaid items' tab on MYS landing page," PSNC. "It is important to note that prescription returns/referred back items via MYS are only held in the system for a period of 18 months from the date they are first sent to the pharmacy for action; if contractors have not completed and returned any outstanding referred backs before this deadline has passed, the referred back items will be deleted from system."

David Webb has been appointed as the new chief pharmaceutical officer (CPO) for England. He will take over from Dr Keith Ridge who steps down next month after serving the role for sixteen year. Webb is currently chief pharmacist and clinical director for pharmacy and medicines optimisation at Guy's and Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London. Sharing the news of his appointment on Twitter on Friday afternoon (January 7), he said he was "really delighted and honoured" to be named the CPO for NHS England and that he was as the appointed Chief Pharmaceutical officer for "looking forward to working with pharmacy leaders, colleagues & teams across all sectors from February." He also extended his gratitude to the outgoing CPO for his "outstanding contribution" who, in turn, congratulated Webb and said it was "an honour to be handing over to him". In the same message, Dr Ridge thanked "all the great people I've worked with over the last 16 years for your support, friendship, good humour, great ideas & challenge. I wish you all well for the future."

The Health Education England (HEE) has secured funding to further support growth of the pharmacy technician workforce in 2022/23. This support is through expansion of pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician (PTPT) training capacity in community pharmacy or as part of a cross-sector integrated apprenticeship programme. HEE will be holding two 90-minute webinars on Monday 27 2022. There will be a morning webinar (10-11.30am) and an evening webinar (7-8.30pm) for attendees to choose from. Topics like- available funding; eligibility for funding; PTPT training programme requirements for employers; how to apply for this funding; and the support available from HEE for successful funding of applicants to develop their PTPT training programmes, will be covered during the webinars. HEE is also hosting another webinar to provide an update on the Independent Prescribing (IP) for pharmacists training offer that they are developing for Autumn 2022.

An Indian court has sentenced two pharmaceutical company executives to two-and-half years in jail for exporting substandard drugs to Vietnam a decade ago, months after the WHO linked their cough syrups to the deaths of children in Gambia. India suspended production at Maiden Pharmaceuticals in October last year for violations of manufacturing standards after the World Health Organization said four of its cough syrups may have killed dozens of children in Gambia. The company has denied its drugs were at fault for the deaths in Gambia and tests by an Indian government laboratory found there were no toxins in them. The company had been facing legal difficulties for years over suspected shoddy products. A court in Sonipat, near New Delhi, where Maiden has its main production facility, ordered jail for company founder Naresh Kumar Goel and technical director M.K. Sharma for exporting heartburn medicine "not of standard quality" to Vietnam.

AstraZeneca on Wednesday (April 5) said a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza met the main goal in a late-stage trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The drugmaker said treatment with a combination of those drugs, along with chemotherapy and bevacizumab - the existing standard of care - improved progression-free survival in newly diagnosed patients with advanced ovarian cancer without certain mutations. Lynparza is jointly developed with U.S.-based Merck & Co as a treatment for breast cancer in early stage with certain mutations. Imfinzi alone, along with chemotherapy and bevacizumab, did not reach statistical significance in its interim analysis, the drugmaker added. Philipp Harter, director, Department of Gynaecology and Gynaecologic Oncology, Evangelische Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Germany and principal investigator for the trial, said: "DUO-O showcases the power of academia and industry collaboration in advancing new treatment combinations for patients with ovarian cancer. I'm grateful for the academic cooperative study groups and patients around the world that made this trial possible and look forward to sharing the results with the clinical community." Susan Galbraith, executive vice president, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: "While there has been significant progress for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, an unmet need still remains. These data from the DUO-O trial provide encouraging evidence for this this Lynparza and Imfinzi combination in patients without tumour BRCA mutations and reinforce our continued commitment to finding new treatment approaches for these patients. It will be important to understand the key secondary endpoints as well as data for relevant subgroups."

A newly licensed 1mg/ml Omeprazole Powder for Oral Suspension has been developed by Rosemont Pharmaceuticals to meet the special needs of babies from 1 to 12 months old who have gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). In infants, the symptoms of GORD can be particularly distressing for both the child and parent. Previously, Rosemont Omeprazole Powder for Oral Suspension has been available in 2mg/ml and 4mg/ml strengths. However, the addition of the new 1mg/ml product ensures that the needs of all patient groups with GORD are sufficiently met. The Rosemont range of Omeprazole Powder for Oral Suspension products are the only PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) indicated for use in babies from 1 month to 1 year. Symptoms of GORD in infants are usually resolved by 1 year of age1, so it is key that there is a licensed treatment option available for the 1 to 12 month patient group.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has redetermined the December 2023 concessionary prices for four medicines following requests made by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on behalf of community pharmacy owners. For Ezetimibe 10mg tablets (pack size 28), the price has been fixed at £17.78, up from £9.44. Other drugs included in the list are Aripiprazole 5mg (£8.52), Digoxin 125microgram (£3.70) and Digoxin 250micrgram (£3.70) tablets. Contractors would be reimbursed at the new prices only for prescriptions submitted for payment for the dispensing month of December 2023. CPE said they are still working with DHSC to agree price concessions for January. Check the final the December 2023 price concessionary here. Additionally, DHSC on Friday confirmed that there's now sufficient stock of Clarithromycin 125mg/5ml oral suspension to meet normal demand, and the Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP), SSP053 for the antibiotic expires on 12 January 2024.

As part of efforts to streamline spending and enhance resource allocation within the healthcare system, the NHS has chosen to cease providing the free vaccinations for all, which were initially introduced in 2020. Approximately 12 million British citizens will not have access to free flu vaccinations and Covid-19 boosters during the upcoming winter, according to NHS. Furthermore, the NHS plans to defer flu vaccine distribution to October, aiming to heighten protection for those aged 65 and older and other eligible groups in the high-risk winter months. However, this has stirred panic among pharmacies, given their advanced planning based on the initial start date of September 1 for vaccinations. On Tuesday (Aug. 8), the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) released NHS guidelines indicating that Covid-19 booster shots, starting from autumn, will not be provided to individuals aged 50 to 64 who are in otherwise good health. Similar guidance had already been released for flu, rendering 12 million middle-aged Britons ineligible for free jabs, JCVI said. Prior to the pandemic, influenza vaccinations were available to healthy adults aged over 65, alongside children and younger adults with medical conditions. Amidst the pandemic, the distribution of flu vaccinations was expanded to include individuals aged 50 to 64, in alignment with the criteria for Covid-19 boosters.

Following discussions with Community Pharmacy Scotland, the Scottish government has agreed to a six per cent rise in the global fund allocation for community pharmacies in 2023-24, bringing the total remuneration to approximately £219.5 million. A finalised agreement has been reached with Community Pharmacy Scotland for a one-year funding package for the financial year 2023-24, as stated in a Scottish government circular distributed to community pharmacy contractors and NHS Boards on August 4. The circular said this settlement will lead to the most substantial increment ever approved for the community pharmacy network. "The global sum remuneration will be £219.533 million, signifying a 6 per cent increase from the previous year and setting the groundwork for 2024/25," stated Professor Alison Strath, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland, in the document. "The guaranteed income from the drug tariff will remain at £80 million for the financial year, without yearly changes."

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug manufacturer, has launched Wegovy, a weight-loss drug, in the UK market. This semaglutide injection will be available through specialist NHS weight management services for those who meet the National Institute for Care and Excellence (NICE) criteria or privately through registered healthcare professionals. Novo Nordisk allocated a portion of the available supply of Wegovy for NHS services, while confirming the existing shortage of semaglutide and projecting continued constraints in the foreseeable future. The drug can be obtained through the NHS and is additionally accessible for private purchase at pharmacies in the UK. The pricing for a one-month supply varies, ranging from £73.25 to £175.80, depending on the dosage. "We are committed to expanding treatment options for individuals with obesity and share the Government's goal of improving access to obesity care in areas of high unmet medical need," the company said in a statement. "We are closely monitoring Wegovy demand and collaborating with regulators and providers to ensure access to and continuity of treatment for people living with obesity."

Colonis, a subsidiary company of the Clinigen Group has received the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval for Melatonin 1mg/ml Oral Solution for sleep onset insomnia in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Clinical evidence demonstrates that Melatonin has the potential to decrease sleep latency and increase sleep efficiency in children with ADHD and chronic sleep onset insomnia. Children with ADHD are statistically more likely to have sleep onset insomnia than non-ADHD children. The prevalence of sleep onset insomnia in children with ADHD ranges from 25%-50%. Sleep onset insomnia in children with ADHD can affect their mood, attention, behaviour and school performance. Henno Welgemoed, Director of Medical Affairs at Colonis said: "We welcome the MHRA's approval for a condition that negatively affects the quality of life for children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and increases the burden for support networks."

If you have been injured on someone else's property, you may be wondering what evidence is needed to win your case. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their premises are safe for visitors, and if they fail to do so, they can be held liable for any injuries that occur. In this blog post, we will discuss the types of evidence that may be necessary to prove your case and win financial compensation for your injuries. 1) DUTY OF CARE The first piece of evidence that you will need to prove your case is that the property owner owed you a duty of care. This means that they were required to take reasonable steps to keep you safe from harm while you were on their property. If the property owner did not live up to this duty, and you were injured as a result, they can be held liable according to Carpenter & Zuckerman lawyers. To prove that the property owner owed you a duty of care, you will need to show that you were an invitee or licensee on the property. Invitees are people who are invited onto the property for business purposes, such as customers or delivery people. Licensees are people who are allowed onto the property for non-business reasons, such as social guests. If you were not an invitee or licensee, the property owner may not be held liable for your injuries.

Pharmacists can dispense Paracetamol 120mg suppositories in accordance with the prescription, as the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that sufficient stocks are available to meet normal demand. This means the Serious Shortage Protocol - SSP033 - for Paracetamol 120mg suppositories has now expired since 26 August 2022. Top tips for SSP claims NHSBSA advise that contractors must follow the specific endorsement guidance issued with each SSP and endorsements should be clear and unambiguous - NHSBSA processing staff must be able to determine what has been supplied. NHSBSA have published information on common SSP endorsing errors they see when processing claims. Any paper prescriptions with SSP claims need to be placed in the red separator provided by the NHSBSA. Although an SSP cannot be used outside its period of validity, claims can be submitted up to three calendar months after expiry or withdrawal of the SSP to help manage any owings for other items issued on the same prescription form. For example, for SSP033 Paracetamol 120mg suppositories, which expires at 23.59pm on Friday 26 August 2022, the NHSBSA would continue to look for the "SSP" endorsement on prescriptions for Paracetamol 120mg suppositories that are submitted with the August batch (submitted by 5 September), September batch (submitted by 5 October) and October batch (submitted by 5 November).