It is unlikely that figures on NHS England prescriptions for medical cannabis will be published by the end of March 2019, despite ministerial assurances that they would, The Pharmaceutical Journal has been told.


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A minimum of 3,000 extra pharmacists are needed in general practice across England by 2024 to help tackle rising patient demand and GP shortages, a report compiled by three major think-tanks warns.


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Universities may drop MPharm from their undergraduate programme if they are expected to pick up the bill for student placements as part of five-year integrated degrees, the head of the Pharmacy Schools Council has warned.


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Generics manufacturers across the EU have spent €700m on implementing the Falsified Medicines Directive, the British Generics Manufacturers Association has estimated.


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Guidance for the prescription of medical cannabis has been issued by the by the Medical Cannabis Clinicians’ Society and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Medical Cannabis under Prescription.


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Pharmacists with additional clinical skills training can take clinical responsibility for patients in hospital emergency departments, according to research published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.


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On 19 February 2019, Hazel Smith from Health Education England wrote to hospital chief pharmacists about cuts to funding for the training of hospital preregistration pharmacists for the second time in six weeks.


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The pharmaceutical industry should fund randomised controlled trials of medical cannabis, to improve access to drugs for patients, Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, has told MPs.


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Insulin suppliers have increased their UK stocks to include 16 weeks’ worth of extra supplies as part of their no-deal Brexit planning.


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Delaying or withholding antibiotics in older adults with urinary tract infections is associated with an increased risk of bloodstream infection and all-cause mortality, research published in The BMJ has shown.


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New standards for pharmacy education and training could have a “negative impact” on recruitment of pharmacy students, Community Pharmacy Scotland has said.


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Use of high-potency cannabis on a daily basis increases the risk of psychosis by four times, and in some cities the risk is more than nine times higher, according to a study published in The Lancet on 19 March 2019.


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Hospital electronic prescribing and medication administration may be linked with an overall increase in medication errors, a study published in BMC Health Services Research has found.


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Amendments to legislation allowing pharmacists to switch patients’ medicine without consulting their GP is “an extraordinary power grab” by health ministers, the shadow health secretary has said.


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The health minister Steve Brine has said that a focus on Brexit legislation means that parliament has been “unable to consider” new legislation on dispensing errors.


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The Department of Health and Social Care has halved its expenditure on price concessions in the past year, according to a recent analysis.


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Over a quarter of young people who spend three or more hours per day on social media have symptoms of mental illness, according to a parliamentary report.


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Compared with patients taking warfarin monotherapy, those taking aspirin and warfarin were at a higher risk of a bleeding event but the rate of thrombotic events was similar.


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Cuts to public health grants in England have led to a 9% reduction in specialist smoking cessation services between 2017 and 2018, a survey from Action on Smoking and Health and Cancer Research UK has found.


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The Competition and Markets Authority has warned drug companies against using anti-competitive discount schemes to protect dominant market position, after investigating discounts offered by the company that manufactures Remicade.


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