Group items tagged

The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new programme to provide pharmacy undergraduate students in Northern Ireland with clinical placements across hospital, community and general practice settings. It has commissioned the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD) at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) to deliver the new Experiential Learning (EL) programme. NICPLD will work with QUB, Ulster University (UU) and local employers to co-ordinate the work placements, the department said. Students across years 2- 4 of the Masters of Pharmacy course will be given up to 12 weeks of Experiential Learning with multisector placements in hospital (6 weeks), community pharmacy (3 weeks) and general practice (3 weeks).

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will launch a new group focusing on improvement of the post-registration practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The announcement follows GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) bringing together key stakeholders from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Thursday (January 27) to discuss establishment of the group. The GPhC considered recommendations from a short-life working group chaired by Council member Aamer Safdar on the potential leadership and quality assurance role of the GPhC in post-registration education and training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Nigel Clarke, chair of the GPhC noted that there is a wide range of activity in the post-registration sphere with government and statutory education providers taking steps to make improvement.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) is bolstering its leadership team with the appointment of Jay Badenhorst as the Director of Pharmacy, a newly created position aimed at fortifying its commitment to advancing pharmacy practice. This move comes amidst a period of significant change and challenge for frontline pharmacists, prompting the independent trade union to enhance its influence in the evolving healthcare landscape. Mr. Badenhorst, who previously served Whitworth Chemists as the Managing Director and also has leveraged his extensive knowledge of the pharmacy practice and organisational leadership as the Vice Chair of the National Pharmacy Association, reasons his "commitment to being at the forefront of positive change within the pharmacy profession." Mr. Badenhorst expressed his enthusiasm stating: "I am delighted to be joining an organisation that has so much vision, ambition and drive at a time when pharmacists have so many opportunities to develop their roles for the benefit of patients." According to Mark Koziol, Chair of PDA, the new position is a reflection of the union's commitment to pharmacy and described the new Director of Pharmacy as "a senior level, proven and award-winning pharmacy leader."

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has urged pharmacy owners to maintain the safety of their services while managing the additional workload brought on by the collective action of GP services, starting today (Thursday, 1 August). General practices across England have begun implementing a work-to-rule strategy indefinitely, following a ballot of GP partners conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA). Under this approach, GP practices will strictly adhere to contracted hours and duties, performing only the tasks specified in their NHS contract. With fewer GP appointments available, it is anticipated that more patients will turn to their community pharmacies for help and advice. Therefore, CPE has stressed the importance of pharmacy owners maintaining the safety of their services, with a focus on the safe supply of medicines, during this period of GP collective action.

A massive global technology outage on Friday has disrupted essential services, including healthcare, airlines, banks, and broadcasters worldwide. The outage, attributed to a flawed update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, has also affected the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, with several hospitals and GP practices losing access to their computer systems. Community pharmacies are also facing significant disruptions. Services such as accessing prescriptions from GPs and medicine deliveries have been affected, causing inconvenience to patients and healthcare providers. An NHS spokesperson said: "The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with EMIS, an appointment and patient record system, which is causing disruption in the majority of GP practices." The spokesperson assured that the NHS has long-standing measures in place to manage such disruptions, including the use of paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact GPs.

We introduce professional consultants and dentists for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea.

Hello. I have practiced Dental Sleep Medicine exclusively in Fresno, CA for the past 5 years, after a general dentistry practice of 32 years in Santa Cruz, CA. These transition years into sleep dentistry have been the best years yet.

Download your FREE copy of The Four Pillars of a Successful Medical Practice! Key Insights and guidance you'll find inside include: Pillar 1: Effective Patient Engagement Pillar 2: Great HR Leadership Pillar 3: Full Compliance with HIPAA Regs Pillar 4: Smart Marketing Tactics DOWNLOAD NOW!

Small Medical Practices! P3Care has been doing well as MIPS Qualified Registry for four years now. During this time, we come up with many little tricks to achieve a minimum performance threshold to be safe from the penalty. Read the article below to know how small practices can avoid the negative payment adjustment in MIPS 2019 reporting.

Navigating social media as a professional in the spotlight can be daunting, with people risking their careers for what they post. We've compiled some best practice policies to adhere by regarding social media as a healthcare professional.

Medical practices can amplify their MIPS performance via consulting and submitting data through MIPS Qualified registries.

Medical practices can amplify their MIPS 2020performance via consulting and submitting data through MIPS Qualified registries.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) today decided to convene a new group, involving all the key stakeholders, focused on assurance of practice post-registration. The decision in today's (9 December) council meeting follows the recommendation of a working group chaired by council member and pharmacist Aamer Safdar on the role of the regulator in post-registration education and training. The new group will be tasked with articulating a set of guiding principles where patient safety is the overarching priority, after carrying out a horizon scanning exercise to pull together an understanding of the system wide approach currently in place. The working group noted that the wider approach, in relation to regulation of post-registration practice and not simply education and training, may require the GPhC reviewing and developing its own control measures, and involving patients and the public in the next stages of work. Reviewing the work on online pharmacy services, the council meeting supported the regulator's plans to continue to require pharmacy websites to be arranged so that a person cannot choose a prescription only medicine and its quantity before there has been an appropriate consultation with a prescriber.

A three-year contract has been signed between NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) knowledge business, to continue the supply of trusted medicines information though MedicinesComplete, to healthcare professionals in Scotland. The renewed investment from NES demonstrates unequivocal confidence in the publisher and highlights Pharmaceutical Press' ongoing commitment to provide practical and evidence-based guidance, supporting those who prescribe, dispense, and administer medicines. Essential resources include Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference, Palliative Care formulary, Stockley's Drug Interactions and Critical Illness. Relied on by healthcare professionals globally for use in everyday practice, clear and concise guidance through MedicinesComplete supports confident decision-making at the point of care.

The Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) has undertaken an inquiry into prevention and has published its first report of the series which focuses on vaccination. It has announced ten workstreams that will form the basis of inquiry, of which vaccination is one. HSCC said: "The UK has long been one of the world leaders on vaccination - one of the most successful and cost-effective preventative tools available. However, if challenges around uptake and bureaucratic processes in clinical trial set-up are not addressed, there is a very real risk that the UK's position as a global leader could be lost. This cannot be allowed to happen and in this report we set out some of the steps that we think will make a difference." It recommended a more flexible delivery model making use of a wider range of healthcare professionals. "The NHSE vaccination and immunisation strategy must have a strong focus on tackling practical challenges that limit vaccination access, make best use of a wider array of professionals, empower local leaders to pursue ways of addressing uptake in their own areas, and to set out guidance and examples of best practice around how voices other than NHSE can communicate important messaging around vaccination programmes," it suggested.

Susan Rienow, UK Managing Director and Country President of Pfizer is all set to take up her role as President of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The association had announced her appointment in March. Last year in September she was appointed as the vice-president of ABPI. In her new role, she will oversee the ABPI, the ABPI Board, and the ABPI's Code of Practice, which is administered by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA). Susan takes up the Presidency as negotiations begin for a new Voluntary Scheme for branded medicines pricing between the government, NHS England and the ABPI. All parties are looking to secure a new agreement that will help improve patient outcomes, support a healthier population and a financially sustainable NHS, while also supporting economic growth for the UK.

Six pharmacists based in Scotland were acknowledged by the profession this week during a celebratory event held at the home of Scottish pharmacy, the RPS building on Melville Street, Edinburgh. Four pharmacists have been officially conferred with Fellowships of RPS for their significant contributions to the practice of pharmacy. The recipients are: Richard Lowrie Lynn Morrison Deborah Steven Audrey Thompson Two pharmacists, Katherine Davidson and Emily Kennedy, have attained accreditation as consultant pharmacists. This designation is granted in recognition of their demonstrated expertise at a senior level, spanning clinical practice, leadership, research, and education, RPS said in a statement.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has made the its 'Education revision programme' accessible for new registrations who are preparing for the GPhC/PSNI November 2022 assessment. The programme offers a wide range of practice calculations questions, some mock exams, practical tips on revision, and an opportunity to chat to other PDA members who are preparing to sit the assessment. PDA's charity partners, Pharmacist Support also offer a range of options including- Counselling and peer support; Financial support; A listening friend service and Addiction support. Candidates can also access the Wardley Wellbeing Service here. This is a resource to help candidates to prioritise their mental, physical and emotional health through individual and group training. The PDA has also reminded all candidates that there have been some changes made by the GPhC to address problems that occurred in the June 2022 sitting.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed Laura Wilson as Director for Scotland commencing 23rd January 2023. Laura, is currently Policy and Practice Lead for RPS in Scotland. She is accountable for bringing national RPS policy to life for members in Scotland, while contributing to the GB wide professional leadership agenda. She will work closely with the Scottish Pharmacy Board, senior NHS officials and other key stakeholders across the breadth of the pharmacy profession and beyond to ensure pharmacy is on the forefront of healthcare in Scotland. She joins the existing team of RPS Country Directors, which includes Elen Jones, Director for Wales and James Davies, Director for England and will report directly to the Chief Executive. Laura Wilson said: "I am delighted to be appointed Director for Scotland having worked as part of the RPS Scotland team as the policy and practice lead. It will be an honour to continue the fantastic work started by former Director Clare Morrison to bring Pharmacy 2030, our vision for pharmacy in Scotland in the future, to life and supporting pharmacy teams to deliver person centred care.

he Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) has elected Professor Katie Maddock as the organisation's new chair. Prior to becoming head of school at Keele University, Professor Maddock had been MPharm course director and associate dean for education for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, responsible for developing the clinical teaching at Keele. Before joining Keele University, she taught clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice at Aston University. Her research interests lie in pharmacy education, particularly the use of technology in teaching, clinical therapeutics, augmented reality simulation and interprofessional education. She was also awarded a principal fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in November 2020. Having worked in hospital pharmacy, Professor Maddock is acutely aware of the pressures that Covid-19 has placed on healthcare, as well as the importance of retaining and building upon the positive changes to patient care and pharmacy practice that were developed in response to the pandemic.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is seeking views of pharmacists to help shape the future of pharmacy practice in England over the next decade. The RPS's project with The King's Fund, transforming pharmacy practice, aims to develop a vision for the role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams working across systems, providing patient care and NHS services. It's due to be published at the end of the year. "From 15 August to 30 September we are asking people to respond to our consultation on six key themes," the RPS said. "We'll also be holding face-to-face and virtual events in September to hear your views." The King's Fund has completed a literature review which has helped inform the initial six themes which will be the focus of the consultation, all of which can be downloaded and read before responding.

The pharmacy business is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet. However, the trends are changing and as we move forward in this digital world, we see a transition from traditional business practices to modern and digital business practices that change the whole scenario. In this era of advanced technology, if you don't keep up with the world, you lose the race. It is a fast-paced world where trends change every day, something might work today but it won't work tomorrow, it will be replaced with something better and more efficient whether it is a tool, a technique, a marketing strategy, or a manufacturing process. Everything is being replaced with better alternatives more than ever. Now it is time to realize this change and bring some new guns to your business arsenal. You can employ an auto attendant for your pharmacies, or build a website for online orders and deliveries. Online pharmacies are getting popular a lot and they are the future. Here are a few tips and tricks that you can use to run your pharmacy business like a pro.