The University friends purchased the North London pharmacy for a confidential sum.
Nabeel Patel, a GP pharmacist at Haringey GP Federation and Huseyin Akpinar, a former councillor at Enfield Council bought it following a confidential sales
process with Mark Page at Christie & Co.
Kiran and Nita Patel, who have owned and operated Beautychem Pharmacy since 1989, have decided to retire.
They claimed that the pharmacy had "dispensed an average of 6,576 items per month".
Kiran Patel, former owner of Beautychem Pharmacy, said: "It's been a pleasure serving the Tottenham community over the last 34 years. Over the years, we've seen
many changes in the pharmacy profession, but the constant has been the customers and the respect they have for what each independent pharmacy does for them.
Dr Michael Gamlen, the inventor of Gamlen instruments presents a tablet press machine to the students at the School of Pharmacy on 16 October.
The equipment not only solves the challenge of producing lab-scale tablets under precise conditions but also offers valuable insights into material
compaction properties.
It is also known as a powder compaction analyser which has been given on loan to the University of Sunderland for five years.
Dr Gamlen talks about the machine and how pharmacy students will benefit, saying: "It allows you to make tablets under tightly controlled conditions and enables
you to make accurate comparisons between different materials and processes.
"The students will be able to easily see the impact of the tablet compaction conditions on tablet properties. This is very important to understand when developing
new tablet formulations and manufacturing products."
Travelling with medical cannabis can be a complex and often confusing experience, given the diverse legal regulations across different countries and states.
Patients who rely on medical cannabis for their wellbeing need to be well-informed and prepared to ensure a smooth and hassle-free travel experience. This
comprehensive guide covers essential aspects, legal considerations, and practical tips for individuals who use medical cannabis and wish to travel.
Know the Laws
The first and most crucial step before travelling with medical cannabis is to understand the laws and regulations of both the departure and destination locations.
Laws regarding medical cannabis use vary significantly from one country, state, or even city to another. Some places have legalised medical cannabis, while others
strictly prohibit its use. Researching and familiarising oneself with the specific regulations of the destination, transit countries, and the home country is
essential.
Travelling Within the Same Country
When travelling within a country where medical cannabis is legal, patients generally need to carry their prescription information issued by a licensed healthcare
provider. It's advisable to keep medical cannabis in its original packaging, clearly labelled with the patient's name, prescribing physician, and dosage instructions.
Carrying a copy of the relevant laws and regulations can also be helpful in case of any inquiries from authorities. What can be easier than carrying around paperwork,
which could get easily damaged or lost during your travels, is to get a medical card that has a unique QR code on it from Releaf Cannabis, which, when scanned, can
present their prescription information digitally - it has revolutionised the way patients manage their healthcare. This eliminates the need for physical documents
and streamlines the process but also ensures the security and confidentiality of sensitive medical information, offering patients a more efficient and organi
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has introduced a new tool to check the eligibility for marketing authorisation applicants.
Applicants are now required to use the online 'Eligibility Checker' tool to determine whether their Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) is suitable for
the Agency's International Recognition procedure (IRP), which will become operational on 1 January 2024.
The tool will also help applicants identify which route (A or B) to follow, before submitting their IRP application.
Julian Beach, MHRA Interim Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access, said that the tool has been tailored to "facilitate a smooth and efficient
process for marketing authorisation applicants."
Representatives for prescribers across Scotland, politicians, academics and clinicians gathered to discuss the importance of environmental sustainability
in healthcare during a Scottish Parliamentary reception held at Holyrood on Wednesday (13 December).
Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) informed the parliament that medicines account for around 25 per cent of carbon emissions across the NHS, while highlighting
the various innovative ways to reduce these carbon emissions.
The NHS in Scotland needs to implement effective environmentally sustainable approaches to healthcare in order to meet its ambition to achieve net zero, RPS
pointed out.
Laura Wilson, Director for Scotland at RPS, said: "It was fantastic to bring together pharmacists, parliamentarians and partners from across government and
healthcare to highlight the huge opportunity which exists in healthcare to make our systems and processes more environmentally sustainable.
People are advised to be prepared and order their repeat prescriptions in time so that they don't run out of their routine medicines over the Christmas and
New Year break when services are likely to be busier than normal.
As GP practices will be closed over the bank holidays and only some pharmacies will remain open, local NHS leaders have urged patients to plan ahead to avoid making
last-minute requests for collecting repeat prescriptions, which can add avoidable pressure for doctors, pharmacies, and other NHS services.
Sati Ubhi, Chief Pharmacist at NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, have cautioned patients that running out of their usual medication can have serious consequences.
"By ordering medicines as soon as possible, it allows enough time for it to be processed and dispensed and helps avoid a last-minute rush," she told Fenland Citizen.
Usdaw, one of the major trade unions in the UK, has sought assurances for its members working in Boots, following reports that the parent company of the iconic health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain is considering putting the business on sale next year.
Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA), the US health group that owns a stake in Boots UK since 2012, is reportedly lining up Goldman Sachs to explore the sale of business
with potential valuation of £10 billion.
Currently, the process is thought to be solely exploratory and may not necessarily convert into the sale of the 172-year-old firm.
Usdaw national officer, Daniel Adams, said: "We note that the company declined to comment on speculation, but acknowledged that the group's strategic direction 'includes a more pointed focus on North America and on healthcare'.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has announced that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted further price concessions for the month of December 2021.
A price concession only applies for the month in which it is granted. No additional prescription endorsement are required as the new price is automatically applied by the NHS BSA to all items submitted for payment in the same month for which a price concession is granted.
Contractors can find information and learn about the process involved on PSNC's website.
Maintaining a healthy digestive system is a vital component of a customer's overall health. Gut health affects how food is processed and digested, in turn affecting how and what vitamins and minerals are absorbed from the food that is ingested. It also impacts immune system efficiencies which can lead to allergies and autoimmune conditions.
As such, supporting customers with their digestive health should be a key focus for community pharmacists. Alongside offering a range of over-the-counter products,
pharmacists are well placed to offer one-to-one guidance for customers concerned about their digestive health. Top tips that pharmacists should provide their customers with, include:
Eating well
Pre and probiotics
Water intake
Smoking cessation
Alcohol Intake
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has appointed communications agency to lead a review into how it can develop and strengthen member participation.
"We've appointed communications consultancy Luther Pendragon to carry out an independent review of the participation of members and of our communications
concerning decisions we take on behalf of the profession through our Governance boards," the Society said in a statement on Tuesday (May 10).
It added that review would examine how RPS members, elected members and stakeholders can feel engaged, informed and empowered to influence decisions about RPS policy and understand why decisions around organisational policy have been taken on their behalf by elected representatives.
It will also ensure RPS decision-making processes are open and transparent with an emphasis on evidence-based decision making, and recommend ways elected members are enabled to be publicly accountable for decisions taken by the organisation at Board and Assembly level.
Maxwellia has appointed Ian Adamson as strategic advisor to shape the next phase of pharmacy medicine launches - a process which involves identifying and converting suitable prescription only medicines into versions people can choose to buy under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Ian brings over 30 years' international consumer health and personal care experience to the Maxwellia team. He is currently an advisor to the board of the UK
independent pharmacy chain Day Lewis plc, an advisor to the board of Spanish healthcare company ReVa Europe S.L and board advisor to East Midlands Pharmaceuticals
Ltd.
Prior to this Ian was Chief Commercial Officer and a main board director at SSL International plc (prior to its sale to Reckitt Benckiser) with responsibility for a $1bn portfolio of brands, which included Durex and Scholl.
Ian's appointment follows the landmark reclassification of the progestogen only pill by the MHRA, a change spearheaded by Maxwellia, and the company's subsequent
launch of its first product Lovima in July 2021; and the current MHRA public consultation on the reclassification of Maxwellia's new pharmacy brand, Aquiette 2.5mg Tablets (Oxybutynin Hydrochloride) for the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms which are not adequately controlled by bladder training alone.
Community pharmacy should be involved in key decisions in neighbourhoods and systems to help reduce workload and increase patient access, a roundtable
organised by the National Pharmacy Association to discuss a recent review on primary care integration has concluded.
The NPA said it would be sending the recently published report on the roundtable to local pharmaceutical committees (LPCs) and other local pharmacy leaders as a
tool to help them engage with Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) which will become statutory bodies from July 1.
The 'Fuller Stocktake: Community Pharmacy Roundtable' report, published on June 13 by the NPA, is based on a meeting hosted by the association on behalf of the NHS
team running a key review of primary care integration, the so-called 'Fuller Stocktake'.
NPA integration lead, Michael Lennox, said: "The NPA recognises the critical importance of our LPC network colleagues being there for contractors at the 42 local
systems level and influencing to fulfil the laudable ambitions of the Fuller Report.
"We ensured that community pharmacy voices were heard in the stocktake process and now that conversation needs to be amplified locally."
We have been specialising in community pharmacy sector for over 30 years and have helped many pharmacists acquire their first pharmacy. We have seen several
of those first-time buyers transition into multiple pharmacy owners under our specialist guidance and support through the years.
Acquiring the first pharmacy can be a challenge to most pharmacists especially when they do not have the necessary skill in reading the numbers presented in terms
of the target pharmacy's performance and how to interpret these in order to arrive at a valuation for the purpose of submitting an offer.
Without the guidance of a specialist accountant in community pharmacy, one of the major risks is that one could end up paying more than what the pharmacy is worth.
Once the offer is accepted, there are other challenges to overcome to get the deal over the line.
1) Assessing the risk
2) Valuation of the business
3) The negotiation process
4) Asset or company purchase
5) Financial due diligence
6) Asset/share purchase agreement
7) Finance the purchase
Community pharmacists are readily accessible healthcare providers and medicine experts in the community setting and their counsel is often sought by patients and consumers on a number of subjects including the use of dietary supplements.
Their role in the sale of and advice regarding natural health and drug alternatives has never been more relevant. The recent National Health Service (NHS) Interim
People Plan calls for the NHS to put all staff front and centre of the way it operates and identifies pharmacists as a critical part of multidisciplinary teams,
providing care across a wide range of increasingly complex patient needs.
Despite existing demand to counsel patients on a vast range of medicines, more and more consumers are looking to their pharmacist to support and enhance their
knowledge regarding the relevance of a growing range of supplementary nutrients now available.
Nutritional supplementation is increasingly becoming the consumer's first choice for 'drug free' treatment or natural prevention that provides a true sense of taking control, which the prescription process often denies them.
The vast and growing depository of information on the internet is certainly fuelling this, but as much of this is brand derived content, information, it can often be generic with a 'one size fits all' marketing message.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed Professor Parastou Donyai as chief scientist. She will take up the role in June.
Parastou is a pharmacist with a PhD in pharmacy. She also has a postgraduate diploma in Psychological Research Methods as well as a degree in Psychology.
She is currently a professor of Social & Cognitive Pharmacy at the University of Reading and her research examines the psychology of medication use, discontinuation
and decision-making processes.
Prior to this, Parastou also spent more than five years as a senior lecturer in Pharmacy Practice at Kingston University and St. George's University of London. Her
longstanding research interest includes continuing professional development in pharmacy.
Commenting on her appointment, Parastou said: "It is a real privilege for me to be the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's next chief scientist.
"As a pharmacist, scientist and academic, I look forward to working with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's members and key stakeholders to uphold the value of
science across the breadth of our profession."
One evening whilst I was watching TV, my phone pinged with an all too familiar WhatsApp alert with a message preview saying "Can you help". I recognised the
name as one of our Titan pharmacy customers who was clearly in a state of panic.
I replied offering my assistance and asked him what was up. What followed over the next 24 hours was an interesting case study of how innovative technology can
genuinely solve real challenges in pharmacies.
Mr P (let's call him that) had booked a locum to cover in his dispensary on the next day so he could focus on his vaccination service. The problem - his locum
had just called to cancel his booking (no reason given) and now he had no cover.
Meanwhile, he was fully booked with back to back appointments and could not cancel them. He had phoned round his usual network of pharmacists and no one was
available at short notice.
He was asking if there was anything that Titan could do to reduce his workload and said he had heard about Titan's artificial intelligence module.
Unfortunately, Titan. X had not been installed at this site and was not an option at this late stage.
Equally, Titan's digital workflow cannot be circumvented so there was no way steps could be taken out of the process.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance on 'Evusheld' which is not recommended for vulnerable adult with high
risk of severe Covid-19 on Thursday (16 February).
The draft guidance is open for public consultation until 9 March 2023. The committee will consider any comments received at a meeting currently due to take place on
4 April 2023.
It comes after last month's decision by the US drug regulator to withdraw its emergency use authorisation for Evusheld as a preventative treatment for Covid-19,
which said there was insufficient evidence that Evusheld is effective against the dominant variants of Covid-19 in the US.
NICE's independent appraisal committee has reached the same conclusion having considered evidence which shows Evusheld is unlikely to prevent infection with most of
the variants circulating in the UK now and in the near future.
It has also announced that it is developing a new review process to update recommendations on the cost-effectiveness of Covid-19 treatments so they can be made
available more quickly to patients if they show promise against new variants and are found to be cost-effective.
Patient safety should remain a top priority in any healthcare setting. People should always receive the right advice, and pharmacists aren't 'GPs on the cheap.'
Staff should be fully trained, and medical equipment should be correctly maintained at all times. In turn, this helps create a safer environment for patients and
professionals alike. In this article, we'll discuss some of the factors that can enhance patient safety in healthcare settings.
AUTOMATION AND MONITORING
Automating processes within a facility can help streamline operations. This has the potential to reduce or eliminate human error that could result in serious injury
or death. In addition, automated systems often provide instant alerts when something goes wrong - allowing medical staff to react quickly and appropriately. Automated
solutions can help facilities achieve hand hygiene monitoring standards, and it's possible to schedule a demo and see their outcomes. They can reduce staff sick time
and HAIs, as well as Joint Commission citations and associated costs.
Monitoring helps ensure compliance with safety protocols. It's essential for improving patient safety and gaining data on all aspects of a facility's operations. It
also helps organizations track the effectiveness of their protocols and procedures over time. This helps them constantly evaluate and refine their policies, to
maximize patient safety benefits.
ADEQUATE STAFFING
In order to provide quality care, it's essential to have enough staff on hand to meet patient needs and ensure all protocols are being followed. Without this,
healthcare providers may struggle to provide prompt, efficient care - which can put patient safety at risk. Adequate staffing levels should be determined by a
variety of factors. They include patient numbers, the complexity of care required, and the size and layout of the facility.
Britain has started counting possible Covid-19 reinfections in its daily coronavirus data, changing its approach to reflect the increased number of people
catching the disease for a second time as the Omicron variant predominates.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) added around 840,000 cases to the cumulative total, taking it to 17.3 million coronavirus infections reported.
Britain's daily Covid statistics previously would only count people who had tested positive for the first time to avoid double-counting people who had received multiple positive test results for the same infection.
However, with variants such as Omicron leading to an increase in reinfections, the UKHSA said it would change its method to treat positive tests as separate infections if there was at least 90 days between test results. The change took effect on Monday (January 31).
"Reinfection remained at very low levels until the start of the Omicron wave. It is right that our daily reporting processes reflect how the virus has changed," said Steven Riley, UKHSA's Director General of Data and Analytics.
More than 9,300 pharmacy contractors would benefit from earlier advance payment in February, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update.
Contractors who declared their January 2022 FP34C submission figures through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by February 5 will receive earlier advance payments
by today (February 10).
The statistics indicates nearly 2,000 contractors will not receive any earlier advance payment this month, either because their January declarations were submitted late or they used the paper FP34C submission document to make their declaration, PSNC said.
These contractors will receive their advance payments in accordance with the normal payment timetable i.e. on March 1.
The negotiator reminded contractors that from April 2022 MYS will be the only process to make monthly submissions.
