Support for Australian Pharmacy Workforce

12 December 2011 The National Council of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has called for pharmacists to be removed from the migration Skilled Occupations List (SOL). The Guild lodged a submission to Skills Australia seeking the removal of pharmacists…

APPFSC – Customised Entry-Level Competency Tool for Pharmacists

19 December 2011 The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework Steering Committee (APPFSC) is a profession-wide collaborative forum which is working on a number of projects associated with the national competency standards for pharmacists. The APPFSC…

PSA Welcomes New Minister for Health

12 December 2011 The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has welcomed the appointment of Ms Tanya Plibersek as the new Minister for Health. National President of the PSA, Grant Kardachi, said the appointment of Ms Plibersek brought a wealth…

Guidance for Pharmacists Using Internet and Social Media

15 December 2011 The internet and social media have changed the way many people receive or seek information about health issues and health care, and as a result the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has launched its Guidance for Pharmacists…

Thirty Years Later, HIV Is Still Here

23 November, 2011 At the end of 2010 it was estimated that there were about 34 million people living with HIV worldwide, and although global rates of HIV infection have fallen dramatically, there were still around 2.7 million new HIV infections…

Queensland PSA Award Recipients

27 November 2011 The Queensland Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's recent annual dinner was the occasion for the presentation of a number of prestigious awards including Intern of the Year and Graduate of the Year. The Gold…

PSA ACT Branch President Elected to Medicare Local

ACT Branch President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Professor Gabrielle Cooper, has been elected to the first ACT Medicare Local Board. Professor Cooper, who is Professor of Pharmacy, Associate Dean Clinical Engagement at the University…

Australian Pharmacist Newsletter – Vol.30, No. 12, December 2011

Combination use of methotrexate and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Methotrexate is a disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) widely used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other systemic rheumatic disorders.…

TGA to Cancel Four Prescription Pain-killers from 1 March 2012

22 November 2011 The TGA intends to cancel all pain-killers containing dextropropoxyphene - Capadex, Di-Gesic, Doloxene and Paradex - from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), from 1 March 2012. Following a review of the available…

Revised Arrangements for the Efficient Funding of Chemotherapy Medicines

From 1 December 2011 a new initiative will be introduced with the aim to reduce PBS expenditure on chemotherapy medicines used in the treatment of cancer and administered through intravenous infusion or injection. This will result in changes…