Tag:medicines

The future of pharmacy in a post Covid Australia

The Covid-19 crisis has taken Australia’s pharmacy sector on a roller coaster ride in recent months with no one able to say for sure what the future of the industry will look like. However what is almost certain is that pharmacy will not simply go ‘back to normal’ once the coronavirus pandemic is declared contained. […]

50 new drugs about to hit the unavailable medicines list – are you prepared?

Over 50 drugs are about to hit the unavailable medicines list in Australia, joining 493 names already on the TGA’s hard-to-get drugs register. Is your pharmacy prepared for the increase in compounding scripts? While some doctors still resort to alternative medications during drug shortages, increasingly medical practitioners are turning to reputable compounding pharmacies, like National […]

The Dutch are stockpiling medicines – should we do the same here?

The Dutch government yesterday announced it will begin to stockpile medicines in the face of expected shortages as well as spearhead a drive to restart wholesale manufacturing of drugs in Europe once again. Netherlands’ Minister for Medical Care, Bruno Bruins, made the announcement saying the government would start work on building up 5 months worth […]

What exactly is a compounding pharmacist?

There’s nothing mysterious or particularly complicated about what a compounding pharmacist does. They make medicines. They do this in just the same safe and orderly way as the big pharmaceutical companies. The key difference it that pharmaceutical companies produce medicines en masse for the mass market, while a compounding pharmacist produces medicine, to order, for […]

When medicines run dry, what’s your back up plan?
drug shortages, medication

What do you do when your hospital pharmacy can’t fill a script? I don’t mean your computers have gone down, I mean supplies of the medication requested have run dry. Not just at your pharmacy and not just in your city or town, but right across the country. Do you have a back-up plan? The […]

Trump’s trade war with China could see medicine shortages worsen – here’s why

As the rhetoric ratchets up in the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, there arises the very real possibility that the medicines we prescribe, dispense and use every day here in Australia, could be the collateral damage. When Donald Trump introduced a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports […]

New study finds common additive in medicine could lead to cancer and bowel disease

Consumption of a common Australian food additive, also used in medicines, could lead to colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease according to new research from the University of Sydney. As part of the study, researchers fed food containing the common additive E171 (titanium dioxide nanoparticles) to mice over a period of time, then studied changes […]

We’re a small fish in a big pharmaceutical pond – Should Australia be worried?
small fish big pond

According to NPS Medicine Wise Australia accounts for only 2 per cent of the pharmaceutical sector’s global market and we import more than 90 per cent of our medicines from overseas. In light of the increasing incidence of global drug shortages, affecting even giant markets like the U.S., should we be worried? In September of […]

Could Trump’s latest plan see the price of medicine jump in Australia?
Donald Trump drug prices

Donald Trump’s plan to bring down the skyrocketing cost of prescription medication in the U.S. has the potential to see prices increase in other parts of the world, according to the President himself. In a speech given at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services late last week, President Trump outlined his plan to […]

New penalties concerning drug shortages welcomed by compounding pharmacists
penalties not reporting drug shortages

With the incidence of drug shortages increasing worldwide, one made-to-order medication specialist has welcomed a proposal to introduce substantial fines for drug manufacturers and marketers who don’t report upcoming disruptions to supply. Matthew Bellgrove from National Custom Compounding on the Gold Coast said failure to notify authorities of a shortage in some essential medications could […]

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