Consultation into ethics of new technologies
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a public consultation on the ethical issues related to online healthcare, telemedicine and commercial medical profiling technologies. The consultation will form the next stage of its inquiry into The Ethics of Personalised Healthcare in the Consumer Age, which was launched in October 2008. The council’s expert working group […]
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Audit Scotland flags concerns with ECR
Scotland’s national audit body has raised concerns about the scope and quality of the country’s Emergency Care Summary. In its latest report on medicines management, Audit Scotland says that nine out of ten health boards have now implemented the ECR in Accident and Emergency departments. The ECR contains information from GP records and is intended to help staff […]
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New logo identifies safe online pharmacy
One in four GPs have treated patients for adverse reactions to medicines bought online, according to a survey. The poll of 483 GPs carried out by GP newspaper found that 25% reported treating patients for adverse reactions to drugs bought on the web and a further 8% said they may have done so. Dr Bill […]
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World’s first kids medical website announced
Medikidz has announced it will launch the world’s first dedicated children’s medical website in July.
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IT vital to pharmacy progress
Use of the NHS Care Records Service by community pharmacists will be an essential part of the reform agenda for pharmacy services, health minister Phil Hope has said. The minister told the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s annual dinner that community pharmacy and the NHS were in a great position to move forward on a number […]
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Contraceptives advice online
NHS Direct has launched an online emergency contraceptive advice tool. The Contraception Checker aims to deal with enquiries about emergency contraception, missed contraceptive pills, dislodged contraceptive devices, interactions with other medicines or failed contraceptives. The online tool has taken the protocols used by NHS Direct call centres to assess patients over the telephone and adapted […]
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NHS Direct takes 250,000 festive calls
NHS Direct received more than a quarter of a million calls over the Christmas and New Year break, an increase of 16% on the same time last year. The health helpline answered 255,562 calls between 20 December and 1 January, compared to 221,225 during the same time last year. The busiest day was December 27, […]
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European drugs to carry barcodes
Medicines sold across Europe will have to carry barcodes and other improved security mechanisms, under proposals unveiled by the European Commission to crack down on counterfeit drugs. The Commission says it aims to use technology to enable “total traceability" of all medicines bought in pharmacies or online. Even with the new measures, some repackaging will […]
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JAC wins South African pharmacy contract
Medicines management software specialist JAC has won a contract to provide the latest version of its pharmacy management software to hospitals in the Western Cape province of South Africa. JAC, a subsidiary of Mediware Information Systems, has been awarded the new contract by the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC) of South Africa to implement the […]
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Multi-national effort targets illegal online drugs
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has led an operation in conjunction with Interpol and medicines regulatory bodies to tackle illegal internet medicines. The multi-national collaboration, called operation Pangea, has been working target the illegal sale and supply of medicines sold over the Internet. Operation Pangea has been co-ordinated by the Permanent […]
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