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Superdrug has unveiled its new fertility test service to help women to easily access information about their own fertility and enables them to take greater control of their reproductive health. The service comprises a Superdrug online doctor consultation and personalised fertility test recommendations to help women make more informed decisions about the options available to them. Superdrug's fertility test initial consultation requires customers to fill out a quick online questionnaire. This is then reviewed by Superdrug's team of online doctors, who will work with the patients to identify which fertility tests are best suited to the individual. The new service also sees Superdrug introduce three new fertility blood tests to its portfolio, ensuring greater choice and accessibility. Dr Sara Kayat, Superdrug's medical ambassador comments, "For women that have been trying to get pregnant and not succeeding, or for those who are just curious about their fertility, easy access to blood tests may help provide answers and signpost them in the right direction."

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has urged pharmacy contractors to use Manage Your Service (MYS) portal only for all monthly FP34C submissions. To secure access to earlier advance payments on 11 April 2022, the committee has advised pharmacy contractors to submit their claims for NHS pharmaceutical services delivered in March 2022 no later than 5 April 2022. PSNC said: "The Manage Your Service (MYS) portal is now the ONLY route available to contractors for all monthly FP34C submissions. From March 2022, contractors will no longer receive the paper FP34C submission document through the post. However, the NHSBSA will continue to post out red separators for contractors to submit relevant forms each month.

Steve McCabe, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Selly Oak says a "vicious" NHS contract has been forcing community pharmacies into bankruptcy. Asking his question in parliament during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (March 8), McCabe said he has heard Rishi Sunak speak fondly about working in his mother's community pharmacy. The MP asked how would the prime minister feel "if 600 pharmacies close this year because of a vicious NHS contract which takes no account of rising costs and is forcing many into bankruptcy?" The prime minister responded by saying that community pharmacies do fantastic work and that his government was looking at ways in which it could support the sector to do even more. Sunak said: "I praise the work that our community pharmacies do. They are fantastic at being on the frontline of delivering primary care. And as I've said previously the government is exploring ways in which we can support them to do even more.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced 30 pence increase in prescription charges from £9.35 to £9.65 for each medicine or appliance dispensed. Board Chair for England at RPS, Thorrun Govind commented: "This is a kick in the teeth for people in England who are already struggling with rising bills and food prices. "Patients groups have warned that people are not collecting prescription medicines due to cost and pharmacists are seeing this worrying trend first-hand. "A Government impact assessment noted the risk of adverse effects of people not taking their medicines, resulting in future health problems for the individual, potential hospital admissions, and a subsequent cost to the NHS. "This decision seems to prioritise revenue generation over ill-health prevention and undermines the principle of an NHS free at the point of use.

Online pharmacies have to operate from bricks & mortar premises that are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, but recent cases show that, in reality, the practices of online pharmacies are often very different to other pharmacies, and the regulation of online pharmacies is also different - and evolving as issues arise. For a start, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is only one of the regulators taking an interest in online pharmacy services. Other regulators include the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which enforces the advertising and promotion of medicines, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which regulates prescribing services. The different regulation of online pharmacies is attributable to the higher risk to patients and the public from medicines bought online. These risks often arise from a combination of patients who do not tell the truth in order to obtain medicines and the nature of a transaction in which a pharmacist does not see patients face-to-face. "The GPhC has strong enforcement powers that it uses when it considers its premises standards have not complied with." However, there are also things that go wrong because pharmacists have simply failed to act professionally or take sufficient care, as well as cases where things have gone wrong through misfortune.

A new, independent search engine has launched called Vitaminology which enables the search, discovery and comparison of vitamins and supplements to empower consumers to make more informed choices and find the right products for their personal health goals and requirements. The company has set out to reduce confusion in this market through choice and high-quality information as well as access to one-to-one consultations with accredited nutritional therapists. By offering the complete package of advice, resources and products Vitaminology helps people to lead healthier lives. Mike Murphy, who is chief nutritionist for Vitaminology, comments, "This innovative platform has a powerful comparison and filtering feature that helps to simplify the choices available for consumers so they can make better self-care decisions. This is supported by access to video consultations with nutritional therapists as well as a comprehensive library of ingredient profiles, articles clustered around health conditions and unique recipes to support wellness."

Paydens Pharmacy Group, one of the first multiple pharmacies to adopt hub and spoke model last year, revealed that the move has resulted in significant time savings in store. Centralising dispensing of repeat prescriptions relieves pressure in pharmacy branches and releases time to deliver revenue generating services, the group said. The group created a hub in Maidstone, Kent, to service its highest dispensing branches. The hub uses Centred Solution's FLOWRx Hub Auto to dispense their original pack repeat prescriptions. The group put in the first FLOWRx Hub production line in spring 2022 and then added in a second line in the autumn as they increased production and moved more stores to the hub and spoke model. The innovative solution interfaces with EMIS PMR, Omnicell's Robotic Dispensing System and Universal Logistics Management software as well as Victoria OS ordering software. The hub operation runs during the day Monday to Friday and produces an average of 33,289 packs per week for just under 9,000 patients, leaving plenty of scope to ramp up. The hub is currently dispensing 79.7% of repeat prescription original packs requested by the group's busiest stores.

Community pharmacies in Cornwall have delivered more than 8000 face-to-face consultations over last 12 months. Walk In Consultation Service (WICS) began 12 months ago when pharmacies in Cornwall started offering face-to-face consultations for a wide range of minor ailments, and NHS treatment as required - the first service of its kind in England. Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Scilly Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) Chief Officer Nick Kaye joined Operations Manager Drew Creek in Parliament recently by invite of Steve Double MP, St Austell and Newquay to meet with Minister for Health Neil O'Brien MP to present the service to them and Senior Civil Servants from DHSC and NHSE with a view to rolling this service out nationally. The data from these consultations show that over 6000 GP appointments were averted as a result of the service being available. After each consultation a record was sent to the patient's GP for information.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has published a guidance for community pharmacies to help them in the implementation of the new Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The new policy will rollout from 1 April 2023, patients who are not already exempt from NHS prescription charges will be able to purchase an annual HRT PPC for the cost of two single prescription charges Major concern raised by PSNC is that the NHS systems have not kept pace with policy, as the certificate is launching without the IT in place to support it. PSNC has been clear that this is totally unacceptable, including raising this with Ministers directly and warning them that introducing the PPC without this infrastructure risks causing confusion for some patients and adding to the burden for pharmacy teams. "Government recognises the challenges but is determined to move forwards with the policy, said the committee. "DHSC has recognised the impact this will have on pharmacies and we are still pressing for appropriate financial compensation. We have also sought guidance for GPs, and now published our own guidance to try to make the launch go as smoothly as it can for pharmacy teams."

Superdrug has announced a pay increase for newly qualified pharmacists, in a move that will see wages rise to £50,000 - ensuring that Superdrug Pharmacists continue to receive the strongest renumeration package on the high street today. Superdrug is also enhancing its patient experience and operational structure, with the introduction of a new role of Pharmacy Team Leader to selected pharmacy stores. Pharmacy Team Leaders will be dispenser trained and provide a clear line of accountability for day-to-day dispensary activity including adhering to legal and clinical frameworks whilst supporting, coaching, and developing a high-performing pharmacy team. The role also allows Superdrug to offer a clear line of progression for talented Pharmacy Dispensers and Technicians who want to do more in their career and recognises the valuable contribution Pharmacy Dispensers & Technicians play in community pharmacy. In addition, the appointment of two new Heads of Pharmacy Operations sees the high street retailer driving and improving Superdrug's pharmacy performance to offer the best possible care for patients. Craig Watt, Pharmacist and previously Area Manager, has been appointed to Head of Pharmacy Operations North and will be responsible for the operation of Superdrug's central distribution hub serving its e-pharmacy and Online Dr team.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) has appointed David Vanns as its non-executive Chairman following the retirement of its long serving Chair Peter Cattee. Vanns will take up the role from April 2023. Cattee, one of the co-founders of AIMp took up the role as its Chairman in 2000. He is also a non-CCA representative on the PSNC. Despite retiring as chairman Cattee will remain on the AIMp board. Commenting on his retirement Cattee said: "It's been my great good fortune to work with almost all of the owners of pharmacy groups throughout England, Scotland and Wales over the years and many other talented people throughout the sector. It's been during a period of increasing consolidation, something which our own business has reflected, and the original founders and Board members Yakub Patel, Kirit Patel, Steve Williams and David Vanns have all been instrumental in shaping pharmacy negotiations to better reflect the views of our natural constituency - pharmacy group owners. A spokesperson for AIMp said: "We thank Peter for his services and dedication to AIMp throughout the years. Our organisation has grown to be a diverse and dynamic organisation representing and supporting pharmacy groups of all sizes, small and large. Our main identity and what unites us in AIMp, irrespective of the size of the pharmacy group, is being Independents, and we are very proud of our identity. We look forward to continuing our work in representing and supporting our members in the best way possible."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has welcomed the appointment of Michael Matheson MSP as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care in Scotland. Commenting on the announcement Laura Wilson, Director of RPS Scotland, said: "I would like to congratulate Michael Matheson on being appointed to this position. NHS recovery is vitally important, and pharmacy has a huge amount to offer this agenda. "Our current priorities include enabling pharmacists to take leadership of prescribing in all care settings, tackling health inequalities and advocating for change, implementing shared patient records between healthcare professionals to provide high-quality, person centred and safe patient care, improving pharmacists' wellbeing and tackling the climate emergency by encouraging sustainable and green prescribing across Scotland.

The new Flat Fee payment to roll out in April 2023 to all pharmacy contractors who dispense at least 101 items a month, up to a national total of £70m on an annual basis. "The value of the Flat Fee payment has now been determined at £533 per month and will be introduced in the April 2023 Drug Tariff," said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). "As with all payments, the Flat Fee payments are subject to change throughout the year depending on the overall level of funding delivery to Community Pharmacies. This will be carefully monitored by PSNC and DHSC, and any funding changes will be communicated to pharmacy contractors as soon as they are known," said PSNC.

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."

The Pharmacy Supervision Practice Group consisting of members from AIMp, APTUK, CCA, NPA, PDA, PFNI and RPS held its fourth workshop to continue discussions on the future modelling of pharmacy practice. The ideas around 'supervision' shared by the organisation earlier formed the basis of the discussion during the workshop and helped to expand understanding of where there was consensus and disagreement. Examples of ideas explored during the workshop include: the extent to which a pharmacist should supervise the medicines assembly process, the purpose and extent to which a pharmacist might be absent from the pharmacy and how this might affect patient safety as well as the nature of whether fixed rules versus a broad framework were preferable for future practice. Chair of the group, Dr Michael Twigg, Associate Professor of Primary Care Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, said "Once again the sector bodies have come together in a collaborative and positive manner to explore the concept of 'supervision' in the context of current and future community pharmacy practice. This session provided an opportunity to constructively challenge assumptions and viewpoints within the group with the aim of moving the discussion forward." As part of the session, the DHSC, GPhC and PSNI gave an overview of the difference between legislation, regulation and guidance which was helpful to inform the group's thinking. Each of the organisations have been asked to use the conversation to refine the ideas presented in advance of the next workshop.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has advised pharmacies to continue providing rota services on Easter after learning that many pharmacies are unwilling to provide the services on Easter holidays. "It is extremely regrettable that community pharmacy representatives have advised that access to rota pharmacies in some parts of Northern Ireland will be reduced over the Easter holidays," department said. They have also stated that despite a commitment of recurrent investment, support for new patients assessed by Trusts as requiring blister packs may be restricted. These actions have the potential to impact on patients and other parts of the Health and Social Care system. The department has also called the CPNI's demand to increase the funding up to 50 per cent in the sector "unrealistic" in the current financial climate. It said: "Financial pressures across the entire NI public sector are severe with an extremely challenging health budget anticipated for 2023/24." "The Department is therefore facing a significant funding gap just to maintain existing services and the whole Health and Social Care system is an extremely unpredictable and fragile position. The core funding envelope available to community pharmacies in NI has increased by 16% over the past three years."

PSNC has urged community pharmacy contractors and LPCs to engage with their local MPs on the immense pressures that pharmacies are facing. The organisaiton has also published some new resources to help pharmacists in this regard. "PSNC is deeply aware of the funding crisis affecting the sector and is working hard to increase the pressure on [the] government to act now with an urgent funding uplift. This has included upping investment in influencing activities and working closely with LPCs to take united action," it said. PSNC has last month launched its Four Point Plan to safeguard the future of community pharmacy, setting out how pharmacy could be the solution to a number of problems if, and only if, it is properly funded, resourced and supported. As pressures continue to mount, further briefings now focus solely on the urgent need to resolve the funding squeeze in order to protect existing pharmacy services.

The PSNC on Friday said it has warned the DHSC about the "very serious impact" of the limited supply of certain antibiotics on pharmacies who are "having to chase stock, purchase without sight of any concession prices, and cope with increasing patient questions and abuse." With higher than usual number of cases of scarlet fever, caused by invasive Group A Streptococci (iGAS) infections, being reported in children across the country, supplies of antibiotics for Group A Strep treatment have seen a surge in demand, leading to limited supply at certain wholesalers and pharmacies. PSNC has urged the DHSC to adopt measures that could help to manage the current crisis, such as allowing pharmacists more freedom to change strengths or formulations without prescriber approval, outside of Serious Shortage Protocols. It has also raised concerns on the significant rise in wholesale prices of many oral antibiotics as a result of the surge in demand and the ongoing supply disruptions. PSNC also said they have received reports of some suppliers putting up their prices for any oral antibiotics they do have in stock.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised 'no one should stop taking valproate without advice from their healthcare professional.' The latest data on the use of valproate in England revealed that in the last 6 months the number of pregnant women prescribed valproate in a 6-month period has fallen from 68 women in April to September 2018, to 17 women in October 2021 to March 2022. In light of concerns that the current regulatory requirements for safe use are not being consistently followed, the MHRA conducted a review of the available data and asked for advice from the independent Commission on Human Medicines (CHM). "The CHM has advised that no one under the age of 55 should be initiated on valproate unless two specialists independently consider and document that there is no other effective or tolerated treatment," said MHRA. "Where possible, existing patients should be switched to another treatment unless two specialists independently consider and document that there is no other effective or tolerated treatment or the risks do not apply."

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation following 'rocketing prices of antibiotics in the wake of Strep A cases', Sky News reported on Wednesday (December 14). On Monday, the Department of Health issued a medicine supply notification for antibiotics for the treatment of Strep A. "Supplies of antibiotics for the treatment of Group A Strep have seen a surge in demand and may be temporarily in limited supply at certain wholesalers and pharmacies. Supplies are available with manufacturers, and deliveries into wholesalers and pharmacies are being expedited and are expected in the coming days" said DHSC. Sky quoted a spokesperson for the CMA as saying: "People have got real concerns about the price of antibiotics used to treat Strep A, and we want companies to be clear about their obligations under the law.