I recently had a good discussion with a pharmacy auditor about the recording of Near Misses in the dispensary.
No doubt I believe every pharmacy struggle to grasp the concept of Near Misses. Is picking up an error during normal double checking procedure count as a Near Miss incident? Continue reading
Sanofi-Adventis stated that patients who use Clexane can access patient support items, including a patient education brochure, self injection technique DVD and a sharps container, from hospitals at no charge. Continue reading
Confused about entitilement to the the Family’s Community Services Card or Pharmaceutical Subsidy Card e.g. the children or other memebers of the family?
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). Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
There appears to be some confusion with the various oral dosage forms of mesalazine that are currently subsidised. They are: Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
The holy month of Ramadan this year is from 21 August throught to 19 September 2009, and requires Muslims to fast from dawn to sunset. There will be some people whose medicines need to be continued during this time.
While Islam excuses a person from fasting if it might significantly affect their health, there may be alternatives to taking prescribed medicines during daylight hours. Click to open the following articles: Continue reading
New Zealand Pharmacy Network 