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Opinion

Hear the opinions and comment from some of the top names in pharmacy. Make sure you get in touch and share your opinions with us too.
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Opinion: Funding model needs immediate radical change

There’s no point tinkering. Pharmacy needs a radically different funding model that reduces prescription volume and margin as its main funding drivers. The current system is broken beyond repair, says Mark Lyonette, previously chief executive at the NPA.

26 Mar 2024

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Editor’s view: Sector let down by Pharmacy First IT shambles

The start of Pharmacy First in England has been far from plain sailing. Urgent action is necessary to sort out myriad problems, writes Pharmacy Magazine editor Richard Thomas.

22 Mar 2024

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Supervision changes: let’s keep it simple

In this blog written exclusively for Pharmacy Magazine, Community Pharmacy Scotland outlines its response to the Government’s supervision consultation and asks – do the proposed changes fall short of achieving what modern pharmacy practice really needs?

21 Feb 2024

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Blog: First week thoughts on Pharmacy First

I feel immensely proud of how pharmacy teams, like mine, have stepped up within a short space of time to be ready to deliver Pharmacy First, says Reena Barai.

14 Feb 2024

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Editor's view: Pharmacy First up and running – just about

Whisper it quietly, but the early indications are that England’s Pharmacy First common conditions service has got off to a promising start, writes Pharmacy Magazine editor Richard Thomas.

14 Feb 2024

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Opinion: Now it’s time for action

If last year was dominated by planning and reform, then the year ahead is all about delivery for community pharmacy, says NPA chair Nick Kaye.

29 Jan 2024

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Opinion: VPAG can only lead to further medicines shortages

Targeting older medicines for punitive rebates will disproportionally impact smaller to medium sized pharmaceutical companies and undermine the Government’s ambition for the UK to be a life sciences superpower, says Jeremy Thorpe, managing director of Tillotts Pharma UK.

22 Jan 2024

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A remarkable feat of resilience and commitment

Wherever you practise in the UK, winter means more work. Pharmacies have a lot on their plate – and I don’t just mean Christmas dinner, says NPA chair Nick Kaye.

14 Dec 2023

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Opinion: To charge or not to charge...

I find it so upsetting that we have had to stop offering free home deliveries – but we can no longer bear the cost, says NPA vice chair Jay Badenhorst.

05 Nov 2023

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Editor’s view: Stirrings from Sheffield

Pharmacy’s reimbursement system is finished. Urgent reform is needed or more businesses will bite the dust, says PM editor Richard Thomas.

01 Nov 2023

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Our IT systems need to focus on the patient

A coroner recently criticised a pharmacy IT system, suggesting that it could have contributed to the death of a child. Could this be the time to pause and ask whether our pharmacy systems are fit for purpose for the future, asks Liam Stapleton

05 Oct 2023

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We must develop a mental health support role

Why do we continue to think of our role solely in terms of medicines optimisation? Post-pandemic demand for mental health support means pharmacy has the ideal opportunity to offer solutions and make a difference, says Ade Williams

05 Oct 2023

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Final word: Supervision ship may have sailed

Has pharmacy managed to miss the boat when it comes to changes to supervision, asks David Reissner

18 Sep 2023

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We have a responsibility to be sustainable

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the impact of modern life on our planet and pharmacy is not exempt from this. We all have a responsibility to practise our profession in the most sustainable way possible, says Liam Stapleton

13 Sep 2023

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Insight: Jabs fiasco should be no surprise

With only weeks to go before the seasonal vaccination campaign was due to start, we were first told to hold fire for a month as the date was pushed back – only for it then to be brought forward. It was pharmacy’s twisted version of the hokey cokey

13 Sep 2023

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