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Found 1,115 results
  1. News Article
    NHS prescription charges in England are to be frozen for the first time in 12 years, the government has confirmed. Single prescription charges, which the Department of Health said would normally rise "in line with inflation", will remain at £9.35 until next year. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said freezing the costs would "put money back in people's pockets". Faith Angwet, a single mother of two, said she had to choose between paying for prescriptions to treat for her high blood pressure, or using that money to feed her children. She said the price freeze "won't go far" because "it's not necessarily the outgoings affecting me, everything is going up in price and I'm not able to afford everything I use to be, including my prescription". Claire Anderson, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said people who do not qualify for free prescriptions because of their income, age, or medication type, often had to make decisions about which medicines they need. "Those medicines are prescribed for a reason because that patient needs that treatment," she told the BBC. And Laura Cockram, chairwoman of the Prescription Charges Coalition, who welcomed the freeze, said the government should review the list of those who qualified for free prescriptions. She said the prescription exemption charge list was put together more than 50 years ago, when conditions like HIV "didn't even exist" and at a time there "weren't life saving treatments for things like asthma, Parkinson's and MS". Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 May 2022
  2. News Article
    Women and babies in the UK are “dying needlessly” because of a lack of suitable medicines to use in pregnancy, according to a report that calls for a radical overhaul of maternal health. A “profound” shortage of research and the widespread exclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women from clinical trials means hardly any new drugs are approved for common medical problems in pregnancy or soon after childbirth, the report finds. Meanwhile, scarce or contradictory information about the safety of existing medicines women may be taking for continuing conditions can make it impossible to reach a confident decision on whether or not to continue them in pregnancy, the experts add. “While pregnancy in the UK is generally considered safe, women and babies are still dying needlessly as a direct result of preventable pregnancy complications,” the authors say. Each year, 5,000 babies in the UK are either stillborn or die shortly after birth, while about 70 women die of complications in pregnancy. The Healthy Mum, Healthy Baby, Healthy Future report draws on evidence from patient groups, clinicians, researchers, lawyers, insurance specialists and the pharmaceutical industry, it proposes “urgent” changes to transform women’s access to modern medicine. The report highlights the “profound lack of research activity” and up-to-date information that leaves pregnant women and their physicians in the dark about whether to continue with certain medicines in pregnancy. Some epilepsy drugs, for example, can increase the risk of birth defects, but coming off them can put the woman at risk of severe seizures, which can also harm the baby. Lady Manningham-Buller said the situation “urgently needs to change”, with the report setting out eight recommendations to prevent needless deaths. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2022
  3. News Article
    Remdesivir has no significant effect on patients with Covid-19 who are already being ventilated but has a small effect against death or progression to ventilation among other patients admitted to hospital, the World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial has found. This appears to be a change from findings reported in February 2021, when preliminary trial data suggested that remdesivir “had little or no effect on patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19.” The updated results, published in the Lancet, reported that overall 14.5% of patients assigned to remdesivir died compared with 15.6% assigned to the control group. The release of these results has prompted questions about why it has taken so long to publish these data, especially considering WHO’s recommendation against the use of remdesivir in patients with Covid-19. Read full story Source: BMJ, 4 May 2022
  4. News Article
    A shortage of specific types of hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) has left women struggling with untreated symptoms of the menopause. Demand for prescriptions has more than doubled since 2017 - partly because of work by campaigners to extend access - but supply of some products has not kept up. Yasmin Darling's experience of the menopause was sudden and profound. Two years ago, she had two operations to reduce her risk of inherited cancer which plunged her into an early menopause. "It's really hard to navigate medical menopause 10 years early," the 45-year-old says. "When you don't have the product you need, it makes it much more difficult to navigate." Because of Covid, Yasmin has never been seen by a specialist at a menopause clinic, so she is managing as best she can on her own. Claire Lopez, 59, spent three weeks trying to obtain her usual HRT patches from different local chemists but they were out of stock. Without them, her body becomes "very stiff", leading to slipped discs and severe back pain. "I have severe anxiety if I do not have these patches, so the total lack of coordination between GPs and pharmacists was extremely frustrating," Claire says. In the end, she had to arrange a private prescription through a local clinic, in the Midlands, costing £50. The government has said it is determined to ensure supplies of HRT can meet high demand. Minister for Women's Health Maria Caulfield said: "There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK, most of which remain in good supply. "However, we are aware of some issues with women being unable to access certain products. "We will be appointing a new HRT-supply chairperson and convening an urgent meeting of suppliers to look at ways we can work together to improve supply." Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 April 2022
  5. News Article
    Nearly a third of community pharmacies in Wales should be able to prescribe medicines for NHS patients, including antibiotics, by the end of this year, health officials say. It is the first new service of its kind in the UK. The aim is to take the pressure off GPs at a time of increasing strain on the NHS. Scotland has adopted a similar approach but England and Northern Ireland have not so far. Community pharmacies in Wales are allowed to offer prescriptions of medicines for acute illnesses such as urinary tract and respiratory infections, gout and chronic pain, as well as emergency contraception - if they have a pharmacist who has had extra training for prescribing. For most patients, that will be more convenient and avoid waits for GP appointments. The plan is to roll out the service progressively across Wales, building on local schemes already in place. Local doctors in general practice have welcomed the new policy. Dr Penny Coyle said each week about 25 patients with minor ailments were referred to the pharmacist, saving 100 GP appointments a month and giving doctors more time to visit seriously ill patients in their homes. "We are finding that demand is outweighing capacity and so anything that relieves some of the pressure on general practice is very welcome," she said. Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said: "Pharmacist prescribers can help massively when you think about the shortages and the HRT issues, for example, that we are currently facing - having a pharmacist prescriber being able to prescribe alternative medicines without the patient having to wait to see the GP." Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 April 2022
  6. News Article
    A pill to help treat an overactive bladder - which affects millions of women - could soon be available to buy in the UK without prescription. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) wants women and doctors to submit their views. Aquiette tablets treat the "urge to pee" condition which can cause frequent toilet trips and distressing accidents. Symptoms include having to urinate at least eight times a day and more than once during the night. It would be the first time a medicine for the treatment of overactive bladder would be available without prescription. Dr Laura Squire, from the MHRA, said: "For many women, an overactive bladder can make day-to-day living extremely challenging. "It can impact on relationships, on work, on social life, and it can lead to anxiety and depression. "Fortunately there are treatments around, and from today you will have a chance to have your say on whether one of those treatments, Aquiette, can be available for the first time without a prescription." Minister for Women's Health Maria Caulfield said: "When it comes to sensitive issues such as bladder control, speaking to a GP may act as a barrier for some women to seek help. "Reclassification of Aquiette would enable women to access vital medication without needing a prescription." The Commission on Human Medicines has been consulted and has advised that it is safe for Aquiette to be made available over-the-counter at UK pharmacies. The consultation will run for three weeks, closing on 6 May, 2022. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 April 2022
  7. News Article
    Pharmacy staff in England are facing growing abuse and aggression from patients frustrated that drug shortages mean they cannot get their usual medications, a survey reveals. The hostility, including swearing and spitting, comes as availability of medicines is becoming more uncertain as a result of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and ingredient supply problems. Hormone replacement therapy drugs are in short supply in many places, affecting women undergoing menopause, for example. Half of pharmacists and counter staff say the unpredictability is causing problems for customers managing their health, according to research by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), which represents community pharmacies in England. The PSNC’s survey of 1,132 staff from and 418 bosses of 5,000 pharmacies found: 75% of pharmacies have seen patients turn aggressive when told they cannot have the medication they have been prescribed. 49% of staff say patient abuse is undermining their mental wellbeing. 51% believe supply chain issues affect patients every day. “It is really worrying to hear that pharmacy staff are so routinely facing aggression from patients,” said Janet Morrison, the PSNC’s chief executive. “Pharmacists tell us anecdotally that this can include verbal abuse, swearing, spitting and threatening to report staff to regulators. “Many community pharmacies are having to deal with medicine supply issues on a daily basis. This adds pressures on to already busy pharmacy teams and can also be worrying for patients if they have to wait longer for the medicines that they need.” Patients were left “frustrated and inconvenienced” by drug shortages, she added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 April 2022
  8. News Article
    Women are being left unable to sleep or work competently because of the shortages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products used to treat symptoms of the menopause, the former cabinet minister, Caroline Nokes, has said. Millions of women go through the menopause every year, with many experiencing symptoms that can be severe, such as low mood, anxiety, hot flushes and difficulty sleeping, and have a negative impact on everyday life. The number of prescriptions for HRT in England has doubled in the last five years to more than 500,000 a month. But the rise in prescriptions has come amid several years of HRT shortages, with pharmacists often unable to fulfil prescriptions. Shortages have been blamed on manufacturing and supply issues, and have been exacerbated by the growing numbers of women seeking the products. Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Nokes, chair of the women and equalities committee, called for an urgent debate on the issue to ensure women “can get the supplies that we need”. In October, the government announced that the cost of repeat prescriptions for HRT would be significantly reduced in England. In the Commons on Thursday, Labour MP Nick Smith asked Spencer why there was “no date yet for the HRT prescription changes in England”. Spencer said it was “something the health secretary is looking at, at this moment in time”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 April 2022
  9. News Article
    the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is seeking public comment on a potential change that would require opioid analgesics used in outpatient settings to be dispensed with prepaid mail-back envelopes and that pharmacists provide patient education on safe disposal of opioids. This potential modification to the existing Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy would provide a convenient, additional disposal option for patients beyond those already available such as flushing, commercially available in-home disposal products, collection kiosks and takeback events. Patients commonly report having unused opioid analgesics following surgical procedures, thereby creating unfortunate opportunities for nonmedical use, accidental exposure, overdose and potentially increasing new cases of opioid addiction. Since many Americans gain access to opioids for the first time through friends or relatives who have unused opioids, requiring a mail-back envelope be provided with each prescription could reduce the amount of unused opioid analgesics in patients' homes. Data show educating patients about disposal options may increase the disposal rate of unused opioids and that providing a disposal option along with education could further increase that rate. Mail-back envelopes have several favorable characteristics. They do not require patients to mix medications with water, chemicals or other substances nor use other common at-home disposal techniques. Opioid analgesics sent back to Drug Enforcement Administration-registered facilities in mail-back envelopes do not enter the water supply and landfills (instead, they are incinerated). The nondescript mail-back envelopes provided would be postage paid, offering patients a free disposal option. Additionally, there are long-standing regulations and policies in place to ensure that mail-back envelopes are fit for that purpose and can safely and securely transport unused medicines from the patient's home to the location where they will be destroyed. "The FDA is committed to addressing the opioid crisis on all fronts, including exploring new approaches that have the potential to decrease unnecessary exposure to opioids and prevent new cases of addiction. Prescribing opioids for durations and doses that do not properly match the clinical needs of the patient not only increases the chances for misuse, abuse and overdose, but it also increases the likelihood of unnecessary exposure to unused medications," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. "As we explore ways to further address this issue more broadly, the mail-back envelope requirement under consideration for these unused medications would complement current disposal programs and provide meaningful and attainable steps to improve the safe use and disposal." Read full story Source: Cision, 20 April 2020
  10. News Article
    The moment her newborn son Sebastian was handed to her, Catherine McNamara knew something was terribly wrong. His tiny hands were deformed, unnaturally twisted and facing in the wrong direction. One was missing a thumb. A few days later, the couple were devastated as doctors told them Sebastian’s deformities were permanent — and had been caused by the drug McNamara had been taking to control her epilepsy. Like thousands of women, McNamara had been told her epilepsy medicine, sodium valproate, was safe to take during pregnancy. “They told me everything would be fine,” she said. Sodium valproate, which was given to women with epilepsy for decades without proper warnings, has caused autism, learning difficulties and physical deformities in up to 20,000 babies in Britain. Yet despite a 2020 report that criticised the failure over four decades to inform women about the dangers, doctors are still not properly warning women of the risks. According to the latest data, published in March, sodium valproate was prescribed to 247 pregnant women between April 2018 and September 2021. An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that the drug is still being handed out to women in plain packets with the information leaflets missing, or with stickers over the warnings. The government is refusing to offer any compensation to those affected by sodium valproate, despite an independent review by Baroness Cumberlege concluding in 2020 that families should be given financial redress. The former health secretary Jeremy Hunt says doctors should now be banned from prescribing the drug to pregnant women — and that the families affected by it must be properly compensated. He has compared the case to the scandal of the anti-morning-sickness drug thalidomide, which caused deformities in thousands of babies after it was licensed in the UK in the 1950s. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Sunday Times, 16 April 2022
  11. News Article
    On 25 March2022, a Tennessee jury convicted RaDonda Vaught, a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult abuse in a 2017 medication administration error that tragically resulted in a patient death. The Washington State Nurses Association have issued a joint statement adamantly opposed to criminalization of patient care errors. "Focusing on blame and punishment solves nothing. It can only discourage reporting and drive errors underground. It not only undermines patient safety; it fosters an environment of fear and lack of respect for health care workers." "The Vaught case has drawn intense national attention and concern. We join with health care workers and patient safety experts around the country and the world in rejecting the criminalization of medical errors. Further, we are committed to redoubling our efforts to achieve health care environments that are safe for patients and health care workers alike. This includes the ongoing, critical fight to achieve safe staffing standards in Washington state." Read full statement Source: Washington State Nurses Association, 8 April 2022
  12. News Article
    A nurse with no qualifications gave a care home resident a fatal dose of the wrong drug, leading to her death before she then tried to cover up her mistake. Katherine Hutchinson gave Fiona Jayne Thorne a fatal overdose of a powerful anti-psychotic drug, which was meant for another patient, an inquest heard. She then tried to cover up her errors which contributed to the death of the 36-year-old with learning difficulties, Derbyshire Live reported . Ms Hutchinson had, at the time, been the nurse in charge at Whitwell Park Care Home, in Whitwell, Derbyshire despite not having any qualifications. She gave Miss Thorne clozapine, which had been intended for another resident, on October 6, 2010. Instead of owning up to what she did, Ms Hutchinson then tried to cover up her mistake by taking Miss Thorne to bed and leaving her there until she was discovered, Senior Coroner Dr Robert Hunter said. Miss Thorne was "found by the care support worker around midnight, when undertaking routine checks on residents”, the inquest heard. And then Ms Hutchinson’s mistake was only discovered after an audit was carried out of the medication trolley and a dosage of clozapine was found. Read full story Source: Mirror, 8 April 2022
  13. News Article
    A nurse has been suspended for three months by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) after forcing medication into a person with dementia's mouth. An NMC Fitness to Practise (FtP) panel found Reni Kirilova had forced medicine into the patient’s mouth, held her mouth closed and shouted ‘take your tablets’ while working at the Chocolate Quarter Care Home in Bristol, run by the St Monica Trust. Patient was reportedly distressed, waving her hands and shouting The incident occurred on 30 May 2019, seven days after Ms Kirilova began working at the care home on 23 May. She was suspended on 7 June pending a police investigation and she resigned the same day. One witness told the NMC hearing that they saw the nurse’s fingers go over the patient’s mouth for around 30 seconds while the patient was ‘flapping her hands’ and ‘trying to spit them out’. They added the patient was distressed and was ‘waving her hands everywhere’ and shouting ‘no, no, no’. Ms Kirilova denied the allegations and said that she had given the patient some water and then tilted the patient’s chin to help her swallow. The panel found that the allegation she held her hand over the patient’s mouth was not true but that she had held it closed in some way, after three witnesses corroborated this. The panel said they were not satisfied that she had considered how she would cope with stressful situations in the future and there was a risk it could happen again. Read full story Source: Nursing Standard, 7 April 2022
  14. News Article
    Emma Moore felt cornered. At a community health clinic in Portland, Oregon, USA, the 29-year-old nurse practitioner said she felt overwhelmed and undertrained. Coronavirus patients flooded the clinic for two years, and Moore struggled to keep up. Then the stakes became clear. On 25 March, about 2,400 miles away in a Tennessee courtroom, former nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of two felonies and facing eight years in prison for a fatal medication mistake. Like many nurses, Moore wondered if that could be her. She'd made medication errors before, although none so grievous. But what about the next one? In the pressure cooker of pandemic-era health care, another mistake felt inevitable. Four days after Vaught's verdict, Moore quit. She said Vaught's verdict contributed to her decision. "It's not worth the possibility or the likelihood that this will happen," Moore said, "if I'm in a situation where I'm set up to fail." In the wake of Vaught's trial ― an extremely rare case of a health care worker being criminally prosecuted for a medical error ― nurses and nursing organizations have condemned the verdict through tens of thousands of social media posts, shares, comments, and videos. They warn that the fallout will ripple through their profession, demoralizing and depleting the ranks of nurses already stretched thin by the pandemic. Ultimately, they say, it will worsen health care for all. Read full story Source: Kaiser Health News, 5 April 2022
  15. News Article
    Clinically vulnerable people infected with Covid are being denied access to potentially life-saving antiviral medicine, patients, health officials and charities say. Around 1.3 million people with underlying health conditions in England have been identified by the NHS as at-risk and sent letters explaining they will be assessed for antiviral treatment if infected with Covid. The NHS said “tens of thousands of the most vulnerable patients” have received the medication to date, but told The Independent it was “aware of some local issues” in which clinically vulnerable people have struggled to access the antivirals. It comes at a time of record-breaking infection levels. Patients seeking the treatment, which suppresses an infection to prevent disease escalation and hospitalisation, have reported being turned away by GPs and hospital doctors, while others say they’ve been “pushed from pillar to post” in an attempt to access the medication. An NHS manager told The Independent that only 15% of eligible patients cared for by Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group received antiviral medication in February. Anthony Nolan, the blood cancer charity, and Kidney Care UK both said they had received reports that Covid Medicine Delivery Units (CMDUs), which are responsible for ensuring antiviral medication reaches patients, were overwhelmed and struggling to provide treatment. “Weekends are a particular problem and it causes a lot of stress,” said Fiona Loud, a policy director a Kidney Care UK. “We have had reports from people in different parts of the country.” Paxlovid, molnupiravir and remdesivir are available via the NHS as antiviral medicine. All three have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of hospitalisation among infected vulnerable patients. Antibody treatment, administered intravenously, is also available. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 April 2022
  16. News Article
    RaDonda Vaught's conviction for a fatal medical error has already damaged patient safety and should serve as a wake-up call for health system leaders to improve harm prevention efforts, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has said. Ms. Vaught was convicted 25 March of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult for a fatal medication error she made in December 2017 while working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. "We know from decades of work in hospitals and other care settings that most medical errors result from flawed systems, not reckless practitioners," IHI said. "We also know that systems can learn from errors and improve, but only when those systems encourage reporting, transparently acknowledge their mistakes and are held accountable for those errors." The organization said criminal prosecution of errors over-focuses on the individual and diverts attention from necessary system-level issues and improvements. "Were this practice to be repeated in future cases of a serious or fatal error, there will be more damage, less transparency, less accountability and more lives lost," IHI said. "Instead, this case should be a wake-up call to health system leaders who need to proactively identify system faults and risks and prevent harm to patients and those who care for them."
  17. News Article
    Patient safety and nursing groups around the country are lamenting the guilty verdict in the trial of a former nurse in Tennessee, USA. The moment nurse RaDonda Vaught realised she had given a patient the wrong medication, she rushed to the doctors working to revive 75-year-old Charlene Murphey and told them what she had done. Within hours, she made a full report of her mistake to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Murphey died the next day, on 27 December 2017. On Friday, a jury found Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect. That verdict — and the fact that Vaught was charged at all — worries patient safety and nursing groups that have worked for years to move hospital culture away from cover-ups, blame and punishment, and toward the honest reporting of mistakes. The move to a “Just Culture" seeks to improve safety by analyzing human errors and making systemic changes to prevent their recurrence. And that can't happen if providers think they could go to prison, they say. “The criminalization of medical errors is unnerving, and this verdict sets into motion a dangerous precedent,” the American Nurses Association said. “Health care delivery is highly complex. It is inevitable that mistakes will happen. ... It is completely unrealistic to think otherwise.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 March 2022
  18. News Article
    We have the technology to start a new era in medicine by precisely matching drugs to people's genetic code, a major report says. Some drugs are completely ineffective or become deadly because of subtle differences in how our bodies function. The British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians say a genetic test can predict how well drugs work in your body. The tests could be available on the NHS next year. It would have helped Jane Burns, from Liverpool, who lost two-thirds of her skin when she reacted badly to a new epilepsy drug. She was put on to carbamazepine when she was 19. Two weeks later, she developed a rash and her parents took her to A&E when she had a raging fever and began hallucinating. The skin damage started the next morning. Jane told the BBC: "I remember waking up and I was just covered in blisters, it was like something out of a horror film, it was like I'd been on fire." Jane's experience may sound rare, but Prof Mark Caulfield, the president-elect of the British Pharmacological Society, said "99.5% of us have at least one change in our genome that, if we come across the wrong medicine, it will either not work or it will actually cause harm." "We need to move away from 'one drug and one dose fits all' to a more personalised approach, where patients are given the right drug at the right dose to improve the effectiveness and safety of medicines," said Prof Sir Munir Pirmohamed, from the University of Liverpool. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 March 2022
  19. News Article
    A nurse who admitted she was unfit to practise after dragging a patient with dementia to her room and forcefully attempting to administer a sedative has been suspended for a year by the nursing regulator. Carol Picton was working in the stroke unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh in November 2017 when colleagues raised concerns about her treatment of a vulnerable older woman. Witnesses who gave evidence to an NMC fitness to practice (FtP) panel said they heard the patient screaming in distress after being roughly dragged by her arm back to her room by Ms Picton. The nurse then attempted to forcefully administer the anti-psychotic drug Haloperidol without checking the correct dosage, the hearing was told. She tried to give the drug orally using a 2ml injection syringe rather than an oral syringe. Ms Picton denied forceful mistreatment and panel found no evidence she had shown insight into her misconduct When the patient spat out the drug Ms Picton gave her more without knowing how much she had ingested, risking an overdose, the panel heard. Ms Picton, who was referred to the NMC by her employer following an internal investigation, was also said to have tilted the patient’s bed to prevent her getting out and leaving her room. The panel, which found five charges proven, concluded that Ms Picton’s actions were ‘deplorable’ and amounted to harassment and abuse. Read full story Source: Nursing Standard, 21 March 2022
  20. News Article
    What do you do with bottles of expired or no-longer-needed medications? That’s a problem, according to Elizabeth Skoy, an associate professor at North Dakota State University’s School of Pharmacy in the USA. “In recent years, there’s been a spotlight on medication disposal, because of the opioid epidemic,” she said. “It’s important to get rid of any medication when you are done with it to prevent misuse or having it fall into the hands of others.” Plus, having old medications in the home increases the chances of accidental poisoning of children or pets. But while many of us might be aware that we shouldn’t toss pill bottles in the trash or flush medication down the toilet, we’re less knowledgeable about safe alternatives. And there haven’t been many options beyond the USA's Drug Enforcement Administration’s semiannual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. In the past decade, however, pharmacies, hospitals and law enforcement agencies have been stepping up to help clean out medicine cabinets year-round. One of the most accessible solutions is medication collection bins, which are being added to convenient locations such as retail stores, health clinics, police stations and other easily accessed sites. “We decided in 2016 we wanted to be part of the solution,” said Kurt Henke, ambulatory pharmacy manager for Colorado’s Denver Health hospital system, which has collection bins in each of its eight pharmacies. Drugstore chain CVS began putting units in police departments in 2014 and adding them to its more than 9,000 retail locations in 2017; so far it has deployed more than 4,000 of the bins. States are taking the initiative, as well. In North Dakota the state’s Board of Pharmacy provides MedSafe, a take-back box, to any pharmacy that wants one; at this point, about 120 are participating. The DEA maintains a searchable database of controlled-substance collection sites. Simply type in your Zip code or city to find the nearest one. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Washington Post, 15 March 2022
  21. News Article
    Antipsychotics have been frequently and increasingly prescribed for extended periods to people with recorded personality disorder but no history of severe mental illness, a study looking at UK general practice data has found. Researchers from University College London looked at 46 210 people who had had personality disorder recorded in their GP record between January 2000 and 31 December 2016. Of these, 15 562 (34%) had been prescribed antipsychotics. The study, published in BMJ Open, also found that 36 875 people with a record of personality disorder had no record of severe mental illness. An urgent review of clinical practice is warranted, including the effectiveness of such prescribing and the need to monitor for adverse effects, including metabolic complications. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 10 March 2022
  22. News Article
    Sasha Mallett, Sue Taylor and Kimberly Cooley all have immune deficiencies that make them especially vulnerable to Covid-19, and all have tried to get the same thing: a new treatment that can prevent the disease in people who either cannot produce antibodies after receiving a coronavirus vaccine or cannot get vaccinated at all. Ms. Cooley, a liver transplant recipient in Duck Hill, Mississippi, got the antibody drug, called Evusheld, from her transplant team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center with no trouble. But Ms. Taylor, of Cincinnati, was denied the treatment by two hospitals near her home. And Dr. Mallett, a physician in Portland, Ore., had to drive five hours to a hospital willing to give her a dose. As much of the USA unmasks amid plummeting caseloads and fresh hope that the pandemic is fading, the Biden administration has insisted it will continue protecting the more than seven million Americans with weakened immune systems who remain vulnerable to Covid. Evusheld, which was developed by AstraZeneca with financial support from the federal government, is essential to its strategy. But there is so much confusion about the drug among healthcare providers that roughly 80% of the available doses are sitting unused in warehouses and on pharmacy and hospital shelves. Interviews with doctors, patients and government officials suggest the reasons the drug is going unused are varied. Some patients and doctors do not know Evusheld exists. Some do not know where to get it. Government guidelines on who should be prioritised for the drug are scant. In some hospitals and medical centres, supplies are being reserved for patients at the highest risk, such as recent transplant recipients and cancer patients, while doses in other areas of the country are being given out through a lottery or on a first-come, first-served basis. Hesitance is also an issue. Some doctors and other providers do not know how to use Evusheld and are thus loath to prescribe it. Read full story (paywalled) Source: New York Times, 6 March 2022
  23. News Article
    Hospitals across Ukraine are “desperate” for medical supplies, doctors have warned, as oxygen stores are hit and other vital health supplies run low amid bombardment from Russian forces. UK-based Ukrainian doctors have issued an urgent appeal for donations of supplies as they travel to eastern Europe in response to reports of shortages of medical equipment and medicines. The World Health Organisation warned on Sunday evening that oxygen supplies in Ukraine were “dangerously low” as trucks were unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country. Dr Volodymyr Suskyi, an intensive care doctor at Feofaniya Clinical Hospital in Kyiv, told The Independent he had been forced to use an emergency back-up system to supply oxygen to a patient on life support after the area near plant which supplies his hospital was bombed. Dr Dennis Olugun, a UK-based doctor who is leading the group of medics from the Ukrainian Medical Association of the United Kingdom (UMAUK) to deliver medical supplies, said the situation was “desperate” in some areas. He said some hospitals did not have basic necessities such as rubber gloves. He told The Independent: “What they need in the hospitals is portable ultrasound machines, portable x-ray machines because they have so many patients they much rather walk around the wards and do whatever diagnostic work rather than transporting patients." The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations have called for medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials to be excluded from the scope of sanctions being levied against Russian trade. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 March 2022
  24. News Article
    Campaigners found to have been harmed by medical products have written to the health secretary warning that government inaction is "causing pain and destroying lives" by ignoring review recommendations. Some 18 months ago, an independent review recommended financial help for people damaged by some products and drugs that had been prescribed by UK doctors. The government - which set up the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review in the first place - has chosen to ignore several of its recommendations. Alleged victims of vaginal mesh, and the drugs valproate and Primodos, have written to Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Maria Caulfield to say they feel ignored. The letter states: "Our members gave evidence to the two-year-long review, sometimes travelling long distances, often with disabilities." "Families shared intimate details of their medical problems, their daily struggles, their difficulties parenting, sometimes even their sex lives. The panel, led by Baroness Cumberlege, was set up by the government to listen, assess and direct policy towards the best course of action. "What was the point of this exercise and the hard work of the panel, if their key recommendations are then ignored by the government?" In the letter, campaigners say: "The decision not to offer an agency for redress (Cumberlege recommendation 3) means that the review has lost its teeth." "Still, no one is facing consequences of medical failures other than the patients. At a time when the public is being asked to put its faith in vaccines, this is a bad look for the government." Kath Sansom, of the campaign group Sling the Mesh, said: "Women must dutifully accept their health has been irreversibly shattered by a medical product they were told was safe, some now needing a disabled blue badge, and they must put up and shut up." Read full story Source: Sky News, 17 February 2022 MeshPrimodosSodiumValproate_LettertoMariaCaulfield_170222.pdf
  25. News Article
    A man who died from a mixed medication overdose might still be alive if the help his partner was "begging" for had been provided, a coroner said. Mental health patient Benjamin Stroud, 42, had been under the care of Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (EPUT) in the weeks before his death in March. Essex coroner Michelle Brown said in a post-inquest report that, despite "escalating psychosis", his care co-ordinator did not flag the case. Following an overdose of medication in February, his partner, a nurse, called for psychiatric intervention and despite "begging" for help, Mr Stroud's care co-ordinator did not make a referral to the multi-disciplinary team (MDT). Mr Stroud died at home on 19 March and was found surrounded by empty insulin pens and pain medication. In her prevention of future deaths report, the coroner said: "It was clear from [his partner's] account that she had been begging the care co-ordinator for Mr Stroud to have an appointment with the psychiatrist, which did not occur and, from the evidence of EPUT, it was clear that Mr Stroud's care co-ordinator did not make any referral to the MDT, despite his escalating psychosis." The coroner added that the issue of care co-ordinators failing to document their reasons for not referring cases to the MDT had been raised at other inquests. "If these practices continue there is a real risk of future deaths occurring," Ms Brown warned. Paul Scott, chief executive at the trust, said: "We will continue to view all safety-related incidents as an opportunity to learn and make sure lessons are shared across the trust." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2022
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