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When it comes time to choose a Medicare plan, it can be difficult to know where to start. There are so many factors to consider, from the cost of coverage to the quality of care you'll receive. How do you know which plan is right for you? This article will discuss some of the most important things to keep in mind when choosing a Medicare plan. It will cover everything from drug coverage to hospital and doctor networks. By the end of this article, you'll be able to confidently choose the right Medicare plan for your needs! COST Of course, for most of us, the cost of our healthcare is a major consideration. When you're choosing a Medicare plan, you'll want to make sure that you're getting good value for your money. Be sure to compare the monthly premiums, deductibles, and copayments of each plan you're considering. You may also want to look at the total annual out-of-pocket costs for each plan. This will give you a good idea of how much your healthcare will actually cost you on a yearly basis. If you plan to be using Medicare for insurance, it's important to do your research before enrolling. This way, you can be sure that you're getting the best possible coverage for your needs and budget.

A new study by the University of East Anglia has found that giving out 'vape starter kit vouchers' on the NHS could help even hardened smokers quit. In the recent study, researchers worked with GPs and the 'NHS stop smoking service', commissioned locally by Public Health at Norfolk County Council, to set up a pilot 'vape shop voucher' scheme (worth £25 each) to help patients who had tried but failed to stub it out in the past. An evaluation of the scheme, funded by Norfolk County Council, showed it was a big success - with 42 per cent of the entrenched smokers who were referred to it and redeemed their vape voucher having quit within a month. After the success of the pilot, the scheme has been rolled out across Norfolk and the research team hope it could be rolled out nationally to help more smokers quit. Lead researcher and addiction expert Prof Caitlin Notley, from the UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Research shows that vaping is an effective way of quitting smoking, compared to nicotine replacement therapies like patches and gum. E-cigarettes or vapes are now the most popular way of stopping smoking.

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) says the data from the 'Locate a Locum's annual report' has revealed that the average locum rate rose by 124 per cent in Scotland in 2021 compared to the previous year and that the trend seems to have continued since. According to the report, in Scotland, the average rate has risen from £20.08 to £44.89 which is a massive £24.81 difference. This was in response to the pharmacists Defence Association (PDA)'s statement on 15 times more closure of pharmacy in Scotland by a CCA member. "This clearly demonstrates that demand for pharmacists in Scotland is outstripping supply," said the association. Explaining further, it said: "Our members have been serving Scottish communities and patients without issue for decades. Recent pressures, however, are unprecedented. Workforce challenges are affecting all parts of healthcare across the UK - and community pharmacy is no different. Pharmacists remain on the Home Office's shortage occupation list for this reason."

Locate a Locum's analysis has found that there has been around 14 per cent rise in rate of locum pharmacists in a year. The report said: "Post-covid locum pharmacist rates remain at an all-time high because of a variety of internal and external factors, including continued strong local and regional demand for pharmacist services, which is more acute in some areas, and some persistent last-minute or unplanned booking activity among pharmacies." The study is based on an analysis of more than 30,000 locum pharmacist shifts booked on the Locate a Locum platform between April 1 and June 30 this year and compared with the same period in 2021. "Locum pharmacy rates are a hot topic within the industry and this interest looks likely to continue, particularly given our latest analysis of rising prices and our assessment that if current market conditions persist, they will continue to increase into 2023," said Locate a Locum founder and chief executive Jonathan Clarke.

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s research has found that between 2015 and 2022 more than 40 per cent of permanent community pharmacy closures took place in the 20 per cent most deprived parts of England. The association has analysed the NHS data and found that between 2015 and 2022, 808 pharmacies closed permanently in England. In that period, only 138 new pharmacies opened - a net loss of 670 community pharmacies. It also examined where permanent closures had taken place. "41% of net permanent closures had taken place in the top 20% most deprived areas in England. Meanwhile, only 9% of net permanent closures took place in the top 20% least deprived areas." Although the latest figures for 2021/22 suggest that the overall rate of closures may be slowing down, the proportion of pharmacies permanently shutting in more deprived areas has only increased. An even larger share of pharmacies that permanently shut in 2021/22 occurred in the most deprived areas compared with the previous fiscal year: 44% of net closures took place within the bottom two IMD deciles.

Professor Harry McQuillan has said community pharmacists in the UK must change their focus from an 'accuracy of supply' to a 'safety of supply' model when it comes to dealing with patients. "The main take away message from tonight's lecture is for pharmacy professionals to really challenge themselves about whether they are focused on accuracy of supply or safety of supply," he said at this year's UCL School of Pharmacy Lecture in London on Thursday, 15 June. "For our community pharmacists it must be about safety, including prescribing, and ensuring patients and citizens get the maximum benefit from prescribed medicines. "To deliver this, we need to invest in our teams - harness technology and always be willing to take the next step in a more clinical future." The Chief Executive Office of Community Pharmacy Scotland, however, noted that at a time when the UK was grappling with an unprecedented national debt crisis exacerbated by severe cost of living and spiraling inflation, community pharmacy will need to make a "compelling case" of where the priority should be in the sector. Expanding on the financial woes of the country, he compared the current national debt of the UK, which stood at a staggering 270 percent of GDP in September 2022, with the previous record-breaking national debt of 250 per cent at the end of WWII.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has published a positioning paper which sets out the objectives that need to be delivered through the next Voluntary Pricing and Access Scheme (VPAS) on Thursday (15 June). The paper details how a financially sustainable VPAS can support widened medicines access to patients. VPAS is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The scheme aims to limit increases in spending on branded medicines to no more than 2% per year via a rebate system which is charged on companies' sales revenues. Two years ago, the rate was 5.1% but for 2023 it has soared to 26.5%. Last year, the association had raised concerns over the rise in the VPAS rate for 2023 to 26.5 per cent. "The rocketing rate is in large part due to the growth in spend in on-patent medicines since 2019. Looking at the four completed years of the current VPAS scheme, data shows that the average annual growth rate for on-patent medicine sales value from 2019-22 was 18% compared to just 2% for off-patent products," said the association.

Glenmark, a multinational pharmaceutical company, has partnered with AI data-driven supply chain management platform 7bridges. Initially focusing on their European business, where they have operations in 15 markets, the supply chain and logistics function is a big focus area for this cost reduction. The partnership with 7bridges will allow Glenmark to baseline their supply chain data giving them visibility of data, cost and service performance across their network of logistics service providers. This exercise will identify areas where invoices from their logistics service providers are being incorrectly or overcharged. With automatic dispute raising, savings will be quickly achieved. The platform will then enable Glenmark to benchmark their data, so they can compare the performance and cost of their LSPs to the wider industry. With Glenmark's global vision to emerge as a leading integrated research-based global pharmaceutical company, this investment in their supply chain will be integral to achieving this. The next step in the partnership will be to run simulations to optimise road freight services and 3PL operations, with the aim to then roll out globally.

Pfizer said on Thursday (June 1) data from late-stage trials showed its experimental combination of antibiotics was effective in treating deadly infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. Deaths from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs, have been on the rise globally, and health regulators have called for the development of newer treatments as resistance to older antibiotics grows. The late-stage studies compared the experimental combination of the antibiotics aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) and existing generic drug metronidazole with a combination of two older antibiotics - meropenem and colistin - to treat complicated intra-abdominal infections and types of hospital-acquired pneumonia. Hospital-acquired pneumonia occurs in patients at least two to three days after being admitted, or in those who have life-threatening lung infections with high mortality rates and who are on mechanical breathing machines. Pfizer said the data from the studies shows the antibiotic combination of ATM-AVI is effective and well-tolerated in treating infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. The cure rate in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections with Pfizer's combination therapy, along with existing generic drug metronidazole, was 76.4%, versus 74% using the other antibiotics.

An experimental Alzheimer's drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a late-stage trial, the company said on Wednesday, providing what experts say is the strongest evidence yet that removing sticky amyloid plaques from the brain benefits patients with the fatal disease. Lilly's drug, donanemab, met all goals of the trial, the company said. It slowed progression of Alzheimer's by 35% compared to a placebo in 1,182 people with early-stage disease whose brains had deposits of two key Alzheimer's proteins, beta amyloid as well as intermediate levels of tau, a protein linked with disease progression and brain cell death. The study also evaluated the drug in 552 patients with high levels of tau and found that when both groups were combined, donanemab slowed progression by 29% based on a commonly used scale of dementia progression known as the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR-SB). Using that scale, experts said Lilly's findings were roughly on par with Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc's lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, which reduced cognitive decline by 27% in patients with early Alzheimer's in a study published last year. The results drove Lilly's shares to a record high, up more than 6% at $429.85. Dr. Ronald Petersen, an Alzheimer's researcher at Mayo Clinic, said Lilly's trial is the third to show removing amyloid from the brain slows progression of the disease, which could put to rest some lingering doubts about the benefits of drugs in the class and the amyloid-lowering theory. "It's modest, but I think it's real," he said of the benefit, "and I think it's clinically meaningful." Dr. Erik Musiek, a Washington University neurologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, said the efficacy looks as good or better than lecanemab.

AstraZeneca said on Thursday (June 30) that a combination of its cancer drug, Imfinzi, and chemotherapy showed promise in a late-stage trial in patients with an aggressive form of lung cancer, when given before surgery. Data showed the combination was more effective in removing cancer cells in tissue samples taken during surgery when compared with just chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the drugmaker said. The interim result is a boost to the company's oncology efforts - a major area of focus - following disappointing data for Imfinzi earlier in the year in another area of therapy. AstraZeneca added the trial would continue as planned to assess the additional main goal of event-free survival, and the interim data would be shared with health authorities globally. Imfinzi belongs to the immunotherapy class of treatments, which boost the body's defences to fight cancer by using antibodies that block or bind to foreign substances in the body. The treatment generated $2.41 billion in 2021 sales.

The result of the common registration assessment for pharmacists, held jointly by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), have been published 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. This summer's pass rate has fallen to 80 per cent compared with the 82 per cent pass rate for the summer 2021 registration assessment, and the 61 per cent pass rate for the Autumn 2021 registration assessment. GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said: "We would like to congratulate the successful candidates and we look forward to them joining our register and continuing to the next stage of their career. "However, we appreciate that the June registration assessment was a difficult and stressful experience for many - and we are extremely sorry about the problems faced by a number of candidates on the day. "For those who did not pass, there is a guide on our website [PDF 255 KB] outlining all the options that may be available, such as provisional registration and the right to appeal. There are also links to organisations and resources that can provide support with mental health and wellbeing.

The routine, twice-weekly asymptomatic Covid-19 testing by pharmacy staff can be paused from the end of August. The health regulator announced that regular asymptomatic testing for Covid-19 will be paused in all remaining health and care settings from 31 August 2022. Currently all pharmacy staff test twice-weekly for Covid-19, using a self-administered Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test at home. "Prevalence of Covid-19 in the community has fallen and remains at a comparatively low level as we emerge from the current Omicron wave. This means that the likelihood that individuals entering healthcare settings are infectious has also reduced and the relative risk of onward transmission into these settings is lower."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has revealed the "differential attainment" gap among Black pharmacy students and Foundation trainees. Research conducted by pharmacy education has revealed unique challenges leading to lower attainment in the registration assessment and an undergraduate awards gap compared to white students. The organisation plans to work with new groups including BPSA, GPhC, NHS England, Pharmacy Schools Council and representatives from Schools of Pharmacy, to achieve a fair and equitable education and training experience for the students. They plan to reach out to student representative organisations to secure their participation in a quarterly meeting of the group. Differential attainment is the unexplained variation between groups who share a protected characteristic, for example, ethnicity, gender and disability.

Pharmacists from BAME backgrounds still face higher levels of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and career obstacles compared to their white counterparts, the Pharmacy Workforce Race Equality Standard (PWRES) report has revealed. Published by NHSE England, this report underscores the persistent presence of inequality, emphasising the crucial need for all stakeholders in the pharmacy sector to prioritise addressing these issues. The PWRES report indicates that pharmacy team members of Black ethnic backgrounds are less likely to perceive equal opportunities for career advancement or promotion within their trust. Additionally, female pharmacy team members from BAME backgrounds report higher incidents of personal discrimination in the workplace. The report also highlights an overrepresentation of pharmacy technicians from BAME backgrounds in lower-paid roles. "It is shocking and unacceptable to see that across all indicators the BME staff experience is worse than their white counterparts," said Tase Oputu, Chair of RPS in England.

At the Conservative Party Conference, PM Rishi Sunak pledged to raise the legal age every year to buy from those who were born in 2009. The proposed changes also encompass heated tobacco products, recognized as smoke-free alternatives that heat, not burn, tobacco to produce a distinct nicotine-containing aerosol compared to traditional cigarette smoke. The following move in a bid to "try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place", and bring in restrictions to stop young people from vaping. PM Rishi Sunak spoke at the conference, "Last week I promised to create the first smoke-free generation and I am wasting no time to deliver on that promise.

In its response to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI), the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has confirmed a net decrease of 101 pharmacies in England - with 371 closures and 270 new contracts. Meanwhile, the General Pharmaceutical Council data projected a drop of 43 registered pharmacies in England, Wales, and Scotland for the year ending March 31, 2023, compared to the preceding period. The data, released by business advisor Christie & Co in its annual pharmacy market review on Sept. 5, revealed a total of 14,328 pharmacies across all four UK country regions as of March 31, 2023, indicating a 0.3 per cent decrease from the previous year. Corporate operators experienced a net reduction of 249 pharmacies, while the total number of independent operators remained consistent with 2022. According to the study, the corporate sector saw the most substantial shift, with a 13.7 per cent reduction in businesses operating 300 or more pharmacies. Following closely, groups managing 11 to 15 pharmacies experienced a 5.6 per cent decrease. Christie & Co attributed this shift in group size to operators acquiring additional pharmacies through corporate disposal opportunities throughout the year.

The NHS staff delivered more than 25 million checks for patients' which is almost 2 million more than before the pandemic. There has been an increase of almost 50 per cent between August to July as compared to a decade ago. In 2013, the figures saw 11 million life-saving tests and checks being conducted by NHS staff in the same period. Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive applauded the hard work of staff for delivering two more million tests and checks in the last year. She said: "NHS campaigns encouraging people to come forward with worrying signs are having a hugely positive effect, with thousands more patients getting checked - so as ever, if you have any health concerns, please do get checked - it could save your life".

Long waits for an ambulance or surgery led to the death of 112 people, and nearly 8,000 more people suffered harm while waiting for help in England last year. The data from NHS England, obtained by The Guardian, show that patient deaths arising directly from care delays have risen more than fivefold over the last three years. In 2019, there were 21 patient deaths due to NHS care delays, and 96 people suffered "severe harm" as compared to 152 last year. Adult mental health care was mostly affected with 471 patients experiencing harm due to delays, followed by childbirth care (253), eye problems (221), and trauma and general surgery (207). There has been increase of 97 percent in the overall number of people suffering some degree of harm, from 3,979 in 2019 to 7,856 in 2022.

The UK is lagging behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has said, calling on all political parties to make cancer a top priority in their party manifestos. While cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled over the last 50 years, the charity warned that the hard-won progress is at risk of stalling, with NHS cancer services in "crisis" and around half a million cancer cases a year projected by 2040. The charity has published an ambitious cancer plan which, if adopted by the next UK government, could dramatically improve cancer outcomes and prevent 20,000 cancer deaths a year by 2040. Called "Longer Better Lives: A Manifesto for Cancer Research and Care", the plan has been developed with the insights of cancer patients and experts from across health, life sciences, government and academic sectors, it said.