PharmaConsult at UD Show :
PharmaConsult will have a stand at the United Drug Show at the Aviva this Sunday and Monday (15th and 16th April). If you are at the show come visit us and say hello ????
Caroline will also be attending the IPU conference at the end of April and looks forward to meeting colleagues and clients at what will no doubt be a fun and informative weekend.
PharmaConsult Services and Website Update:
We are delighted to announce that we have updated our website, in particular the service sections. The updates increase the clarity of our current services and provide information on a number of new services. Don’t hesitate to contact us if there is a service or product you would like further information on.
Our new Services include:
- Compliance and practice advice and information subscription service
- Expanded SOP service, including the availability of individual SOPs and SOP sets
- Error management review service
- Regulatory training service and associated regulatory booklet
The advice subscription service and regulatory booklet are available to purchase from our new online store.
We continue to offer our other core services, including:
- Audits (standard, detailed and specific)
- Pharmacy assessment system reviews
- Assistance with PSI inspection, fitness to practice and registration interactions and responses
- Expert witness and related services
- Quality management system services
- Pharmacy practice review and development services
- Residential care home services
- CPD requirement assistance services
- Training and project services
Further detail on each service is available by clicking on the service you’re interested in or by contacting us.
Regulatory and Practice Updates:
Storage of Pharmacy-Only Medicines: From this month the PSI expect pharmacy-only medicines to be stored in a part of the pharmacy premises that the public don’t have access to, in line with the regulatory requirements. Further information is available in my recent blog.
Automated Dose Dispensing Guidelines: The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) recently issued Automated Dose Dispensing (ADD) Guidelines: ‘Best Practice for the ADD Process and the Associated Care of Patients’. Caroline is delighted to have chaired the group that developed these guidelines during her time at the PSI and subsequently consulted to the EDQM to ensure their completion. Further information on ADD is available in a previous PharmaConsult blog.
CPD: Practice and E-portfolio Review: The Irish Institute of Pharmacy’s (IIOP) first practice review process will take place shortly (April 21st and 22nd) and this year’s e-portfolio review is underway. Information on these and other CPD updates are available in the IIOP’s most recent newsletter.
Garda Vetting: All employers are required to Garda Vet employees who work with children or vurnerable adults, including pharmacists, pharmaceutical assistants and any other relevant employees before 1st May. Details of the process are set out on the citizens information website. Further information is available from the IPU, who are acting as the umbrella organisation for pharmacies.
Food Intolerance Testing: The PSI and HPRA recently clarified that pharmacies should no longer be offering food intolerance testing services. Further information is available on the PSI website.
Benzodiazepines: The HSE’s Medicines Management Programme has published useful resources for healthcare professionals and the public. For healthcare professionals they have developed prescribing tips and tools for benzodiazepines for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.
PSI Superintendent Pharmacy Seminars: Caroline recently attended one of the PSI’s superintendent pharmacist workshops where the focus was on their new corporate strategy and how the PSI hope to move towards developing standards for pharmacies in combination with the profession.
Other Regulatory Updates: The PSI issued regulatory updates on various topics including the new General Data Protection Requirements (GDPR), Fitness to Practice updates and the risks associated with Topirimate use in pregnancy in its recent newsletter.