It's time for pharmacists to get their technology forecasting hats on and be selective in choosing digital technologies, commented Prof James Woudhuysen, of
London South Bank University, at the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) Conference, Pharmacy Odyssey, held on Thursday (13 October).
In a session on 'Healthcare in tomorrow's digital environment', hosted by Fergus Walsh, Prof Woudhuysen opined that digitisation has its merit, but it's quite tricky,
and slower than we imagine.
"Mechanisation has a digital component that we can look to as a way out of the gloom of the moment. And in dispensing, labelling, prescribing, and many other features
of the conventional retail pharmacist, there's a lot that could be done for productivity and automation," he said.
Replying to a question on 'where are we at the digital front now and where can it go', Woudhuysen replied: "It's taken 20 years for the electronic prescription. It
was Tony Blair, who wanted every prescription electronic. The mishaps on repeat prescriptions and all the rest of it are still quite intense. So, we need to remember
that electronics is only as clever as software and then human input into it. There're still many mistakes.
A roundtable organised by National Pharmacists Association (NPA) discussed how an enhanced role of community pharmacies could help people with obesity.
Seven action points were recommended by the delegates at the virtual event which took place on March 31, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk.
It was chaired by Professor Maggie Rae, president of the Faculty of Public Health and featured representatives from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Royal Society for Public Health, Patients Association, UK Health Security Agency, Diabetes UK and NHS England.
The roundtable also heard testimony from a parent of a young adult living with obesity and a presentation of the personal experience of someone living with the condition by Sarah Le Brocq, director of campaign group, All About Obesity.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) will be hosting a Parliamentary drop-in event for MPs on Monday (14 November).
"The event will last for roughly two hours, during which MPs will have the opportunity to drop-in and have their blood pressure measured by a fully qualified
pharmacist," said the committee.
It added: "This event will be a great opportunity to talk to MPs from across the political spectrum about the incredible work pharmacies are doing up and down the
country, to demonstrate the Hypertension Case-Finding Service and to discuss the frontline role pharmacists play in delivering vital services and free, expert
advice."
The other community pharmacy bodies, including the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
(RPS) will also be present on the day, providing the sector with a valuable chance to present a united front on the big issues facing contractors throughout the
country.
In a unified effort to improve women's healthcare, four leading organisations-the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA),
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH)-are calling for the commissioning of a National Emergency
Hormonal Contraception (EHC) service in England.
They are proposing that this service be provided free of charge through community pharmacies to women of all ages across the country.
They emphasised that such a service would "not only transform access to care for all women, but directly tackle health inequalities and vastly improve health
outcomes."
Eighty-one per cent of the National Pharmacy Association cohort of trainee pharmacists passed the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)'s common registration assessment which took place in June.
The NPA's team of learning and development pharmacists helped students prepare for the assessment with study days and mock exams.
Celebrating the success of trainee pharmacists, it said: "The 81 per cent NPA pass rate reflected the comprehensive blended learning experience delivered by the
NPA's team of learning and development pharmacists and that we were able to resume face-to-face study days for this cohort after the restrictions of lockdowns."
Last month, the GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) published result of the common registration assessment for pharmacists with an overall
pass rate of 80 per cent.
A total of 2,697 candidates sat the registration assessment in four countries on 29 June and 2,147 candidates passed the assessment.
The European Commission is prepared to rewrite European Union law on medicines to ensure stable supply of generic and life-saving medicines in Northern Ireland.
In a press statement issued on Friday (Dec 17), the commission said it put forward a package of measures to ensure the continued long-term supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
In the context of the Northern Ireland Protocol, this means that the same medicines will continue to be available at the same time across the United Kingdom.
Commenting on the news, policy manager at the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) Helga Mangion said: "We are encouraged by the EU's statement on medicines availability in Northern Ireland, though of course we await the final outcome of the negotiations. We have been talking to the government, the MHRA and other stakeholders about these issues for months, highlighting the concerns of our members in Northern Ireland."
