Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Prescribing'.
Found 377 results
-
News Article
'I will fade away without vital pancreas medication'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A Kent man who has had three-quarters of his pancreas removed says he will "fade away" without a medication that there has been a nationwide shortage of since 2024. Paul Elcombe, from Hartley, takes Creon three times a day, after major surgery three years ago left him no longer able to create enough enzymes to break down food. As it stands, he has three and a half weeks worth of tablets left, having only had one prescription filled this year. He said: "You need it to survive, without it [Creon] your body can't break down the food...it's as important as insulin is to a diabetic." The nationwide shortage, which the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says is a "European-wide" supply issue, has forced the 63-year-old and his wife to spend time travelling to different pharmacies in a bid to get the medication. He said: "I know it sounds dramatic, but without it you will just fade away...it's very scary." Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 June 2025 -
Content ArticleMedication dosing errors occur frequently and contribute to preventable patient harm and negative outcomes (including numerous patient deaths each year in the US). Dosing errors are particularly common in neonatal and paediatric populations, where weight-based dosing is often required and drug formulations are commonly tailored towards adult populations. Hospitalised neonates require frequent dosing adjustments as their weights can change substantially over the course of their hospitalization and even day to day, increasing the potential for dosing errors. Technologies such as computerised order entry, clinical decision support systems, and electronic prescribing strategies have been used to improve dosing accuracy and prevent adverse drug events with mixed results. Additionally, paediatric functionalities are often not integrated into electronic health records (EHR) or tools tailored to the adult population are incorrectly applied to paediatric patients. In this issue of Pediatric Research, Levin and colleagues compared the accuracy of three Large Language Models (LLMs) to nurses of varying clinical backgrounds and experience levels in calculating paediatric medication dosing. Although this study focused on nurses, it applies to all healthcare providers. Medication dosing errors do not occur in a vacuum and it is the responsibility of all healthcare providers (including nurses, physicians, pharmacists, technicians, etc.) to ensure that medications are given at the correct dose, route, interval, and duration.
- Posted
- 1 comment
-
1
-
- (and 3 more)
-
News ArticleThe Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) is set to spend up to €50m on a new national electronic prescription service as it seeks to modernise as part of Ireland’s “broader digital health transformation”. It has gone out to tender for the provision of this technology which it said will be rolled out in both public and private settings across the country’s healthcare system. “Ireland’s healthcare system currently lags behind other European countries in its adoption of digital technologies,” it said. “Its prescribing and dispensing processes are fragmented, with either Healthmail (secure email) or paper-based prescriptions being used. Healthcare providers often lack timely access to a patient’s complete medication history, leading to errors, communication gaps, and inefficiencies. Patients also have limited access to their medication information.” The current “healthmail” system has several limitations, according to the HSE, such as community pharmacy staff needing to locate and open patient files on the dispensing system and then transcribing details from prescriptions when they’re dispensing it. The HSE said the new prescription service will be secure, efficient and a fully integrated digital service to transmit and store electronic prescriptions and dispensations for patients. It will also integrate with existing and future health platforms and allow prescribers to generate prescriptions for patients electronically. “It will enable accurate, timely access to medication information, which will enhance clinical decision-making, reduce medication errors, streamline clinical workflows, empower patients and improve overall patient care,” it said. Read full story Source: Irish Examiner, 25 May 2025
-
News ArticleA woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) says she has been left with debilitating symptoms after the NHS switched her to a cheaper drug. Julie Cowdrill is among scores of MS patients who say they have suffered a regression in their condition after being switched from a drug called Tysabri to one called Tyruko, with complaints that a “cost-cutting exercise” is coming at the expense of their health. NHS England is hoping to save £1bn over the next five years by switching to biosimilar drugs – medicines that have been shown not to be clinically different from the original drug, but are made far more cheaply. However, in Ms Cowdrill’s case, she has been left suffering from headaches and extreme fatigue, and has experienced worsenening mobility since she started taking the drug in December 2024. “Myself and many others have said that it feels like we’ve regressed 10 or 15 years after all the work we’ve done to get better. It’s like the rug has been pulled from under you – it’s dreadful,” she told The Independent. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is “aware” that some patients have experienced side effects, but that a rigorous assessment has “demonstrated no clinically meaningful differences” between the drugs. A spokesperson for the MS Trust said it had been contacted by patients who have noticed “significant symptom changes” after switching from Tysabri to Tyruko (both of which are natalizumab products). “It is vital that we fully understand the experiences of people with MS when switching from one natalizumab product to another. We are talking to all stakeholders, including people with MS, to ensure that this data is collected and shared transparently with the MS community and the healthcare teams responsible for prescribing them,” the spokesperson said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 May 2025
-
News Article
Warning over unlicensed weight-loss jabs after woman left in intensive care
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A woman was left fighting for her life after using a so-called “weight loss jab” sourced from a salon with police making three arrests. The woman suffered internal injuries earlier after using an injection earlier this month. She has since been discharged. Two other people also become unwell. North Yorkshire Police has launched an investigation into the supply of the injections as they arrested three women from the Selby area. Medical professionals in North Yorkshire and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning against using weight loss medicines bought from private clinics or online. They warned that buying products from unregulated suppliers “significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK and can pose a direct danger to health”. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) Chief Pharmacy Officer, Laura Angus, said: “There has been a lot of attention in the media and on social media about these so-called ‘skinny jabs’, but as with any medicines bought outside of legitimate supply chains, the contents may not match the ingredients on the label. “If you use such products you could be putting your health at serious risk. “If you are thinking of buying a weight-loss medicine, please talk to a healthcare professional first. The only way to guarantee you receive a genuine weight-loss medicine is to obtain it from a legitimate pharmacy – including those trading online – using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 May 2025 -
News Article
NHS rolls out ‘Amazon-style’ app for prescriptions to free up pharmacies
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Millions in England can now track NHS prescriptions via the health service’s dedicated app, receiving "Amazon-style" updates on their medication status. This new feature aims to reduce the administrative burden on pharmacies by minimising unnecessary calls and visits, freeing up staff to focus on patient care. NHS England estimates that approximately 45% of calls to community pharmacies are from individuals checking on their prescriptions. The app now allows patients to track their prescriptions, showing whether they are ready for collection or have been shipped for delivery. Nearly 1,500 high street pharmacies, including Boots, have already adopted the technology. The service is expected to expand to almost 5,000 pharmacies within the next year. Dr Vin Diwakar, clinical transformation director at NHS England, said: “We know that people want more control over how they manage their healthcare and the new prescription tracking feature in the NHS app offers exactly that. “You will now get a near real-time update in the app that lets you know when your medicine is ready so you can avoid unnecessary trips or leaving it until the last minute to collect. “The new Amazon-style feature will also help to tackle the administrative burden on pharmacists, so that they can spend more of their time providing health services and advice to patients rather than updates on the status of their prescriptions.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 May 2025 -
Content ArticleAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) a critical global health threat that undermines the safety of routine medical procedures and reverses many advancements in modern medicine by making antimicrobials ineffective to treat infections. Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is a major driver of AMR. This Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) report describes global progress in antimicrobial use surveillance and antibiotic use in 2022, reported by 60 countries.
-
News Article
Prescription charges frozen in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Prescription charges in England will be frozen this year – for the first time since 2022. The charge for a single item will remain at £9.90 in 2025-26, the government has announced. Three-month and annual prescriptions prepayment certificates will also be frozen and existing exemptions will continue. Charges only apply in England as prescriptions are free in the rest of the UK. Nearly nine in 10 prescriptions in England are already dispensed free of charge, with children, over 60s, pregnant women, people with certain medical conditions and those on lower incomes exempt from paying. Rachel Power, chief executive of Patients Association which campaigns for improvements in health and social care, said freezing the charges was a "positive step". But she warned that it did little to tackle the "deep inequalities" in what she described as an outdated system. She said the medical exemption criteria had remained virtually unchanged since the late 1960s, with nearly three million people in England living with long-term conditions not eligible for an exemption because they were not recognised 60 years ago or people rarely survived into adulthood. Conditions which are not currently on the medical exemption list include Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis and motor neurone disease. "We urge the government to go further - to commit to a full review of the medical exemption list and prescription charges," Ms Power added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 April 2025 -
News Article
UK pharmacies could cut hours unless NHS provides ‘new and sufficient’ funding
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Independent pharmacies in England have been advised to slash their opening hours in a row over funding. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said it had “been left with little choice” but to recommend its 6,000 members take collective action for the first time in its history, unless the government provides “new and sufficient” funding to cover significant new costs. About 90% of an average pharmacy’s work is funded via the NHS, including dispensing medication and vaccinations. But the NPA, which represents community pharmacies, says members have yet to receive any confirmation of funding for the 2024-25 or the 2025-26 financial years. Increases in employers’ national insurance rates, the national living wage and business rates from April, on top of these unresolved funding issues could “jeopardise patient safety”, it says. Significant numbers of pharmacies have already ceased trading, with 1,300 pharmacies shutting since 2017. Nick Kaye, chair of the NPA, said the move was necessary “to safeguard patient services for the long term”, adding: “It is better that we temporarily reduce access in the short term than let pharmacies collapse." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 March 2025 -
News Article
Drug shortages putting patients at risk, pharmacists warn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients are being put at risk of serious illness as pharmacists are unable to dispense vital medications due to drug shortages, industry leaders have warned. At least once a day drug supply problems mean pharmacies are unable to dispense a prescription, according to a survey of 500 pharmacies by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Currently if a prescription is out of stock, patients need to go back to their GP to get an alternative medication. But this can delay care and increase the risk of serious illness. That’s because the pharmacist is not permitted to make a substitution even if they have a safe alternative in stock, this is except in very limited circumstances where a Serious Shortage Protocol has been issued by the NHS. The NPA, which represents 6,000 independent community pharmacies, is calling on the government to grant greater flexibility for pharmacists to substitute medication or strength of a drug when it is safe to do so. The NPA says it is “madness” to send someone back to the GP and warned the current situation poses a risk to patient safety. It said it could lead to patients potentially going without vital medication, such as some types of antibiotics, presenting a serious risk to their health. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 March 2025 Related reading on the hub: Medicines shortages: minimising the impact on patients Medication supply issues: A pharmacist’s perspective Medication supply issues: Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) -
News ArticleAn NHS chief is calling for a crackdown on the online sale and prescription of popular weight-loss jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro following warnings from charities about an increase in people with eating disorders accessing the drugs. One clinician even warned that patients with low body mass index (BMI) or a history of anorexia are able to get an online prescription for the injections by filling out a simple patient questionnaire and lying about their body weight. “I am seeing patients who have pushed themselves to rapid weight loss on these jabs, fasting and strenuous exercising,” said Dr Adarsh Dharendra, a consultant psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders at Priory Life Works in Surrey. “Yet patients can still access so many rogue pharmacy websites on mainstream as well as the dark web.” NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis urged online pharmacies and private providers to “act responsibly” and ensure that the drugs are only prescribed to people with a medical need for them, such as those with diabetes. Last month, the pharmacy regulator tightened prescription rules to prevent weight-loss medications from being supplied “inappropriately”, after groups including the National Pharmacy Association warned some online suppliers were wrongly prescribing the drugs to people who had previously had eating disorders. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 March 2025
-
News Article
USA: Trump casts psychiatric and weight-loss drugs as threats to children
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to scrutinize the “threat” to children posed by antidepressants, stimulants and other common psychiatric drugs, targeting medication taken by millions in his latest challenge to long-standing medical practices. The directive came in an executive order Thursday that established a “Make America Healthy Again” commission led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized the use of those drugs and issued false claims about them. The order said the commission should prepare a “Make Our Children Healthy Again” assessment within 100 days that examines “the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.” The directive comes as children and teens endure a mental health crisis exacerbated by the covid pandemic. The medication review joins a slew of Trump administration policies upending the government’s approach to health, many of which are embroiled in legal challenges. They include attempts to remove vaccine information from health agency websites, to ban gender transition care for children and to cut billions in biomedical research funding. Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the order follows concerns about doctors overprescribing the drugs and harming Americans of all ages. The president called for a review of prescription practices and use of the drugs to determine whether the government should offer new guidance on the medication. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Washington Post, 18 February 2025 -
News Article
Advertising regulator launches nine investigations into weight loss jab ads
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Nine investigations into weight loss jab adverts have been launched by the UK advertising regulator, which has raised concerns about the sheer volume of law-breaking involved in targeting the public with the drugs. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told The Independent it now has nine high-priority investigations underway into whether ads in various online media are promoting prescription-only medicines (POMs) in breach of its rules and the law. Issues being probed include the use of unbranded injection or pen images, as well as claims such as “weight loss injections” and “Obesity Treatment Jab". The ASA described the number of investigations running in parallel on the same topic as “significant” and said that tackling the issue is a “priority”. Health secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the drugs “should not be taken to help get a body beautiful picture for Instagram” and must be treated as “serious medicines”. Drugs for weight management “should only be used by those tackling obesity,” he added. The pharmacy regulator has now tightened prescription rules to prevent weight-loss medicines from being supplied “inappropriately”, with people now no longer able to get the drugs after completing a simple online questionnaire. Groups including the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) had been calling for tougher rules after they learnt of people being wrongly prescribed the drugs without thorough checks, including some who already had a low body weight or who previously had eating disorders. Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 February 2025 -
News Article
Thomas Kingston's family calls for antidepressant prescription change
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The parents of Thomas Kingston have warned about the side effects of antidepressants after he took his own life. Mr Kingston died from a head injury in February last year at his parents' home in the Cotswolds. A gun was found near his body. The 45-year-old had stopped taking his medication, which had been prescribed by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery in the days leading up to his death. His parents, Martin and Jill Kingston, are now calling for a change in how patients are prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) - a widely used type of antidepressant. Martin Kingston told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he believes both the patient and the people close to them should be told more explicitly about the potential side effects of the medication, including what can happen if they stop taking it. The couple want patients to sign a document confirming they've been told about the difficulties of going on and coming off the medication. This could include the patient being told that "it's an extreme case, but it could lead to suicide", Mrs Kingston says. "We'd really like to see that a person, a spouse, a partner, a parent, a close friend, somebody, was going to walk with them through it. Maybe they should be at that signing time." Recording a narrative conclusion at an inquest into his death in December, Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, said Thomas Kingston had taken his own life. "The evidence of his wife, family and business partner all supports his lack of suicidal intent," she said at the inquest. "He was suffering adverse effects of medication he had recently been prescribed." In a prevention of future deaths report, made in January, Ms Skerrett said action must be taken over the risk to patients prescribed SSRIs. She questioned whether there was adequate communication of the risks associated with such medication. Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 January 2025 Related reading on the hub: The question that will save lives: Interview with Katinka Blackford Newman, founder of Antidepressant Risks Long-lasting sexual dysfunction after taking antidepressants: Lack of recognition harmful to patients Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction: After 30 years, why is the health system still failing to recognise this life-limiting adverse effect? -
Content ArticleIn the US, compounding drugs are medications produced by compounding pharmacies, who typically make personalised versions of medications, such as custom dosages, combinations or allergen-free options. In this JAMA article, US journalist Kate Ruder looks at patient safety concerns linked to the rapid increase in demand for anti-obesity medications including semaglutide and tirzepatide. Kate highlights how high demand, ensuing scarcity, prohibitive costs and restrictive insurance coverage have fuelled the production of compounded versions of these medications under a provision allowing compounding pharmacies to make copycats during drug shortages. Concerns have been raised about the quality of ingredients, accuracy of doses and the supply of counterfeit medications by companies selling fake products, as well as about the potential for user error when they give themselves the medication.
-
Content ArticlePeople from ethnic minority backgrounds who have a learning disability face ‘double discrimination’ when accessing healthcare services. Culturally sensitive psychotropic deprescribing is just one way this can be improved. Health inequalities are pervasive across our healthcare system, affecting different patients in different ways and requiring an increasingly nuanced approach to tackle them. For individuals from an ethnic minority background, health inequalities are well documented. Evidence from the NHS Race and Health Observatory indicates that these individuals often receive poorer healthcare and experience worse health outcomes compared with their white counterparts. People with a learning disability also experience inequitable health outcomes. People from ethnic minority backgrounds who also have a learning disability may face ‘double discrimination’, encountering complex and significant barriers that shape their healthcare experiences. One area that has been of growing concern for this group is the overprescribing of psychotropic medicines. Psychotropic medicines are commonly prescribed to manage various mental health conditions and certain neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. People from ethnic minority backgrounds are at a greater risk of being prescribed psychotropic medicines to manage behaviours that challenge, with audits highlighting that these medicines are not reviewed as frequently as they should be. Overprescribing in this way not only exposes these individuals to unnecessary health risks, but also imposes significant burdens on them and their carers.
-
News Article
Increase regulation of online sale of weight-loss jabs, pharmacists say
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Pharmacies are demanding tougher regulation of the online sale of weight-loss jabs amid a predicted new year’s boom in demand. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), who represent independent community pharmacies, urged the regulator to require greater consultation with patients before dispensing weight-loss jabs and other high-risk medication online. Current rules, the NPA said, “leaves the door open for medicines to be supplied without appropriate patient consultation and access to patient records”. Nick Kaye, chair of the NPA, said: “Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing our country and pharmacies want to play their part in helping patients lose and maintain a healthy weight. Weight-loss injections can play an important role in efforts to tackle obesity when prescribed as part of a carefully managed treatment programme for patients who are most in need of support. “However, we are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight-loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records.” The NPA urged regulators to require that pharmacies conduct a full two-way consultation with patients before dispensing “higher-risk” medication such as weight-loss jabs. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 January 2025 -
News Article
Region targets prescription cuts under ‘enormous financial pressure’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
All but one of a region’s integrated care boards have stopped prescribing gluten-free products to save money, with a charity saying the move will exacerbate inequalities and risk “debilitating symptoms”. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB became the latest to withdraw funding for prescriptions for all gluten free food and mixes last month. This means 13 ICBs nationally – nearly a third – have stopped them altogether, according to Coeliac UK. This includes all the boards in the Midlands region except Lincolnshire, according to LLR’s business case on the change. LLR estimates the change will save it about £250,000 a year, and said in a statement it must “carefully consider expenditure for all conditions, balancing it with clinical risk and patient needs”, at a “time of significant financial pressure”. NHSE updated national guidance in 2018 to say commissioners can choose to fund up to eight units per person per month of bread or flour mix, or bread, but also to permit them to “choose to end prescribing of gluten food altogether”. At the time, it said the NHS was spending more than £15m a year on gluten free prescriptions, while there was “increased availability of these products in supermarkets and other food outlets”. However, Coeliac UK's head of advocacy, Tristan Humphreys, told HSJ: “Our message to commissioners would be to remember the responsibility to reducing health inequality and the particular challenges faced by patients on low incomes.” Gluten-free products are more expensive, and Mr Humphreys told HSJ there was still “limited availability” in rural or more deprived communities. Read full story Source: HSJ, 2 January 2025 -
News ArticleWeight-loss injections are being aggressively marketed to British consumers through often illegal promotions, in a practice experts have described as a “wild west” industry of drug selling. The booming market for jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro has triggered a price battle among online pharmacies, with even high-street chains cashing in on the soaring demand. Last month, the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk revealed global sales of Wegovy hit £1.94bn in the third quarter of the year, up 48% from the previous quarter and outstripping expectations. However, a Guardian review of reports by the watchdog that regulates medical advertising in the UK shows that many online pharmacies are flouting strict rules that govern how prescription-only drugs can be marketed in Britain. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 December 2024
-
Content ArticleStandardised nomenclature for combination formulations could “minimise confusion and prevent medication errors”, suggests the authors of this study. The authors identified 26 combination formulations with ‘co-drug’ names in the UK. Eleven were prescribed more than 2,000 times during 2023, including paracetamol + codeine (co-codamol), which saw an average of 1.26 million items dispensed each month; carbidopa + levodopa (co-careldopa – 114,656 items a month); dihydrocodeine + paracetamol (co-dydramol – 110,506 average monthly items; and amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (co-amoxiclav), with an average of 106,504 items a month. A literature review found examples of errors involving, with decreasing frequency, co-amoxiclav, co-amilofruse, co-beneldopa, co-careldopa, co-codamol, co-dydramol and co-trimoxazole. The authors noted that packaging of co-drugs can also be inconsistent. For example, some co-codamol products do not prominently display the individual active ingredients, while the strength is unclear on others. To reduce the risk of errors, the authors advocate a standardised nomenclature on the box and in prescribing resources so that the international non-proprietary name (INN) of each component is followed by the strengths in the x + y format.
-
News Article
New York doctor sued for prescribing abortion pills to Texas woman
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A lawsuit, filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Thursday, alleges Dr Margaret Carpenter unlawfully prescribed abortion-inducing drugs to the 20-year-old, in violation of the state's laws. While no criminal charges are involved, Mr Paxton said the woman, who was nine weeks pregnant, was taken to hospital in July with "serious complications" after taking the medication. "In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents," he said. Court papers note the woman received two drugs commonly used in abortions for pregnancies up to 10 weeks: mifepristone, which blocks a vital hormone in pregnancy, and misoprostol, which causes contractions, cramping and bleeding in the uterus. The documents add the state of Texas is seeking up to $250,000 from New York's Dr Carpenter - who is also a co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. The lawsuit says the medic's "conduct violates the Texas Health and Safety Code's prohibition on prescribing abortion-inducing drugs via telemedicine". Such prescriptions are made online and over the phone. Texas bars abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and in 2021 - before the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, which gave a constitutional right to abortion - passed a law allowing state citizens to sue anyone who provides abortions or assists someone in undergoing the procedure. Read full story Source: Sky News, 15 December 2024 -
Content ArticleThe Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published new interim guidance on the scope, supervision and employment of physician associates (PAs) working in the medical specialties (also known as the physician specialties). The interim guidance covers scope of practice for general internal medicine, supervision and employment of PAs, and how PAs should describe their role to patients, employers, other healthcare professionals and the public. It will be reviewed in collaboration with stakeholders, including RCP fellows and members, following the publication of the report of the Leng review. In the guidance, the RCP is clear that: PAs must support – not replace – doctors, have a nationally defined ceiling of practice, and have a clearly defined role in the multidisciplinary team (MDT). PAs must never function as a senior decision maker, nor should they decide whether a patient is admitted or discharged from hospital. Resident doctors are not, and must not be expected or asked to be, responsible for the clinical supervision of PAs. PAs should only be supervised by consultants, specialist or associate specialist doctors. PAs cannot prescribe medications regardless of any prior healthcare background while working as a PA. PAs must clearly explain their role to patients, their families and carers, as well as colleagues and supervisors, and provide details of their educational and clinical supervision when required.
-
News Article
ADHD drug shortage 'nightmare' for Kent families
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Some people in Kent with ADHD say a shortage of vital medications is making life a "living nightmare". The lack of medications at pharmacies has even left some people waiting years to get the drugs prescribed for them. Some said they regularly have to ring dozens of pharmacies before finding their medication or drive up to 20 miles (32km) to collect treatments, while one person has resorted to paying £200 a month to get hers privately. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that, while the majority of medicines were in good supply, it is working to resolve issues caused by complex and highly regulated global supply chains. Single mother Tracy McKenzie has ADHD, along with her 10-year-old daughter and teenage son. "My son is on a high strength of stimulant medication and without it becomes impulsive and aggressive," said Ms McKenzie, from Dartford. "Every month I worry about trying to get medication for us all, which then impacts my own mental health. "I phone many chemists within a 20-mile radius to find which has it in stock and pray that, by the time the doctor writes the prescription, someone else hasn't managed to get the last of it before me. "It's a living nightmare." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 November 2024 Further reading on the hub: Medication supply issues: Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) Medication supply issues: A pharmacist’s perspective Medication supply issues: have you been affected? -
News Article
I had months of pain when MS drug was swapped for a cheaper one
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
When Jonelle Roback went into hospital for a monthly drug treatment infusion, she was shocked to find a piece of paper on her waiting room chair informing her that her medication was suddenly being switched. Roback, 54, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2009, had been on the intravenous drug Tysabri for 13 years, which had enabled her to “live a normal life”. But in May, as part of an NHS England drive to save money, Roback and other MS patients had their Tysabri medication changed to a “biosimilar” drug — a medicine that has been shown not to have any clinically meaningful differences from the originator drug — called Tyruko, which is cheaper. This marked the start of a horrible ordeal, with Roback experiencing debilitating symptoms including headaches, nausea, fatigue and severe bloating. She has since been in contact with dozens of other MS patients who have also experienced difficulties after having their medication switched, and they have expressed “urgent concerns” to the NHS about the failure to properly consult patients about their treatment. A group of more than 30 patients, including Roback, have written to the NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to raise concerns about the “forced treatment switch”. The letter says that some patients had their drug changed without their knowledge, adding: “The lack of communication and transparency has led to serious side-effects, stress, loss of earnings, and other detrimental impacts on our lives. We have discovered that we are effectively being used as ‘guinea pigs’ for this new treatment.” Roback said it is vital that patients are given an active voice in medication decisions, adding: “It is outrageous that there was no discussion or consultation about changing the medication, just a piece of paper left on a chair. There was nothing we could do about it." Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 25 October 2024 -
Content ArticleIt has been suggested that 1 in 30 patients are affected by preventable medication-related harm, with the highest prevalence (around 50%) occurring during prescribing. If you consider this statistic in the context of an average prescriber, a pharmacist who prescribes for ten patients a day could potentially cause a medication-related harm every six days. This article in the Pharmaceutical Journal outlines how human factors can help in developing safe prescribing practices and reduce error risk. It aims to help pharmacists: describe the prevalence and types of prescribing errors that commonly occur; understand the relationship between human factors and patient safety; apply knowledge of human factors in a clinical or professional setting; recognise unsafe prescribing practices and develop potential strategies to reduce the risk of prescribing errors. It looks at James Reason's Swiss cheese model and outlines how the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model can be applied in prescribing. The article is free to access, but you will need to sign up for a free Pharmaceutical Journal account to view it.
