By Richard Thomas, editor, Pharmacy Magazine There is much in the NHS Long Term Plan that is encouraging. Plenty of mentions of pharmacists, albeit mostly of the ‘clinical’ kind – of which more later. However, community pharmacists are emphasised as key players in urgent care and prevention and there is the usual commitment to make greater use of their skills and opportunities to engage patients.

A pharmacist employed by the NPA had engaged in an act of sexual impropriety and then failed to disclose his police caution

How can we tackle inappropriate prescribing and poor adherence in elderly patients?

Most sufferers have a flu strain that is “well matched” to this year’s vaccine, PHE reports

The GPhC is proposing wide-ranging changes to the education and training pharmacists receive

60 per cent of respondents said they would have seen a GP had they been unable to access the MAS service

Boots is trialling a new cystitis test and treat service in 37 selected stores in London, Sheffield and Cardiff

A round-up of January's OTC news

Both the PDAU and Boots have been lobbying the 7,000-strong bargaining unit in the run up to the postal vote

There are 51 drugs of which a single adult dose could kill an infant, according to a new list

A study using UK data suggests that gabapentinoid prescribing has tripled since 2007

The pharmacist’s “personalised and caring approach” facilitated discussions, study participants said

Boots has acquired a digital health company in a move that will link customers to their GP records

By NPA head of communications Stephen Fishwick When you’re ‘pitching’ community pharmacy solutions to commissioners, policymakers, patients, politicians and others, pharmacy’s ‘access story’ is often a good place to start. Where else in the health service can you simply walk in off the street and get access to professional healthcare advice in a matter of minutes, usually without an appointment? There’s also a great story to tell on prevention, public health and ‘making every contact count’. In fact, there is so much we can say – and do say – about the benefits of pharmacy that our messages can become rather cluttered if we’re not careful.

We have received a letter from one of the local GP practices bemoaning the fact that we have been referring patients to them who needed to be seen urgently, a pharmacist writes

The role of “clinical pharmacists” will grow while community pharmacy may undergo “further efficiencies”

Boots UK parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance has launched a massive savings drive following disappointing results

Prescriptions from EU countries will continue to be recognised in the UK after Brexit, says the MHRA in updated guidance  

The most popular search on the NHS website over Christmas was about getting help from a pharmacy, research finds

A no-deal Brexit scenario could see the UK’s participation in the Falsified Medicines Directive “revoked” just weeks after the 9 February implementation deadline, it was revealed in a Pharmacy Show panel on Sunday 8 October