Click here to read letter from Eli Lilly dated 2 November 2009 View full article »
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Buprenorphine is a Class C4 controlled drug – see Schedule 3 Part 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Prescribing: Buprenorphine is included with a small group of Class C CDs that have to be prescribed on the H572 controlled drug prescription form – see Misuse of Drugs Regulations 29(1)(a)(ii). View full article »
Restrictions on the Sale of Codeine-Containing Medicines
Further to the warning-of-change notice sent to you in June, the medicine classification of codeine-containing combination medicines changed today (4 October 2010). Products for the relief of pain such as Panadeine and Nurofen Plus are now pharmacist-only medicines, and then only in approved small pack sizes. Large pack sizes and repacks are now prescription medicines. View full article »
Pharmacists and Influenza Update from PSNZ
26 June 2009 – Updated 14 September 2010
Reflecting the wide community transmission of the flu, most areas in New Zealand have moved from a “containment approach”, to “managing” the epidemic. This means treating this new flu like the usual seasonal flu. View full article »
Free online training for pharmacists is now available for Opioid Substitution Treatment = methadone services for opioid dependence.
This is a course written by pharmacists at Community Alcohol and Drug Services in Auckland, with the aim of enabling pharmacists to dispense and administer methadone and buprenorphine for opioid substitution treatment safely, within national guidelines and regulatory requirements. It is available for pharmacists throughout New Zealand to use, but be aware that there may be some minor regional variations in practice. View full article »
A new iodine-only tablet (NeuroKare) is now available, with Pharmac subsidy, for pregnant and breastfeeding women to meet their extra iodine requirements over and above that obtained from a good diet.
Iodine is essential for normal brain development and function, especially during gestation and infancy. The recommended dose is 150mcg a day. Not enough iodine can result in impaired brain function and impaired growth and development in the unborn baby and young infant. View full article »
From 1 May next year cough and cold medicines for children under 12 years of age containing dextromethorphan and phenylephrine will only be sold in pharmacies.
Products containing these ingredients will only be available in supermarkets from 1 May 2011 if they are re-labelled for use in adults and children over 12 years of age. All non-compliant products will be removed from supermarket shelves from this date.
Group Manager of Medsafe, Dr Stewart Jessamine, said re-classifying products containing dextromethorphan and phenylephrine to pharmacy-only means parents will be able to get professional advice on how to use these medicines safely before buying them for their children.
“These changes are in line with the recommendations made to the Health Minister by the Medicines Classification Committee and Medsafe following concerns about safety of these medicines in children and are similar to changes being made or considered in other countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom.
“If a parent is unsure of the best way to treat their child, they should seek advice from their general practitioner or a healthcare professional,” Dr Jessamine said. “I would advise parents not to use over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children under six years of age,” he said.
Changes from Previous Audits
1. The Audit tool (specifies the criteria to be assessed by the auditor during
the site audit)
The audit tool includes legislative and quality requirements. It now incorporates the
Health and Disability Services Pharmacy Services Standard NZS 8134.7:2010. This
standard replaces the Code of Good Manufacturing Practice for Manufacture and
Distribution of Therapeutic Goods, Part 3 (Compounding and Dispensing) and the
Quality Standards for Pharmacy in New Zealand 2nd edition 1996. View full article »
Clozapine may now be prescribed by GPs provided the doctor has the vocational scope of practice of general practice and is continuing the prescribing of clozapine for a specific patient whose illness is well-controlled in collaboration, or following consultation, with a Community Mental Health Team. View full article »
To assist pharmacists convey to patients appropriate information in the use of chloramphenicol, the Pharmaceutical Society provided to each pharmacy a pad of 50 Self Care-style eye care and conjunctivitis tear-off leaflets. It is important that a leaflet is given to each purchaser. View full article »
The data sheet for DBL promethazine (which is the funded brand of injectable promethazine) has been updated to include extensive information of the risk of severe tissue reactions occurring with the use of injectable promethazine. In addition, a Dear Health Professional letter was distributed to New Zealand prescribers and hospital pharmacists late last year to inform them of this risk; and a Prescriber Update article was published in November 2009. View full article »
There appears to be some confusion with the various oral dosage forms of mesalazine that are currently subsidised. They are: View full article »
It must be the harvest season, because I have received numerous questions asking the rules and regulations for selling glacial acetic acid.
The first thing to point out is that if it is to be used in a recipe for making tomato sauce or for pickling onions etc then it is not being used for a “therapeutic purpose” (as defined in section 4 of the Medicines Act). Therefore the medicines legislation does not apply. View full article »
Chloramphenicol eye preparations can now be sold by pharmacists without prescription, subject to some important conditions. This reclassification is unique in that no pharmaceutical company initiated or actively supported the classification change. Nor is there any promotion of the product planned now that it can be sold by pharmacists. The Pharmaceutical Society stepped in and has, with the assistance of pharmacists on MCC, worked hard over the past three years to achieve the re-classification. View full article »
Pharmac has announced that from 1 February subsidised pregnancy kits will be distributed through pharmacies on Practitioner Supply Orders instead of the current Wholesale Supply Order arrangement. View full article »
While obtaining the patient’s permission to share their health information with another health provider is the ideal, it is not usually necessary. Section 22 of the HEALTH ACT permits health information about a patient to be disclosed in certain circumstances. These are listed in the appendix of the Health Information Privacy Code. In particular section 22F requires a health services provider (e.g. doctor), on the request of another health services provider (e.g. pharmacist), to disclose health information about an individual if that provider is also providing health services to that individual. The only caveat to this is when the holder of the information has reasonable grounds for believing that individual does not wish the information to be disclosed. View full article »
New Zealand Pharmacy Network 