1 October 2009

The October edition of Australian Prescriber is out now and examines topical issues, including:

Extended prescribing rights: lessons from the UK

Australia can learn a lot from the prescribing system in the UK, according to Nick Barber, Professor of Pharmacy at the University of London.

In the UK, supplementary prescribing rights were introduced in 2003 and were followed by independent prescribing rights in 2006. The new prescribers work as part of a team with the doctor but they are legally responsible for their own prescribing. They have access, and contribute, to the patient's medical records.

Professor Barber argues the case for extending prescribing rights and says where they have been introduced they seem to have improved access, and have been liked by health professionals.

Cough and cold medicines for children under 2 years

In September 2008 cough and cold medicines for children under two years were rescheduled to ‘prescription only’. The USA and the UK have introduced similar restrictions in response to reports of side effects, accidental overdoses and lack of evidence that they are actually effective in young children.

Dr Valerie Sung and Dr Noel Cranswick from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne consider the evidence against cough products for children and suggest alternative remedies that parents can try.

Managing the anaemia of chronic kidney disease

Anaemia is a common manifestation of chronic kidney disease. Dr Simon Roger, Renal Physician at Gosford Hospital, looks at how to diagnose and treat iron deficiency, the different types of supplementary epoetins available, and effective haemoglobin monitoring.

For full copies of these and other articles, visit www.australianprescriber.com.

NPS News #64

The October edition of NPS News outlines different anxiety disorders and treatments.

ENDS

Australian Prescriber is an independent peer-reviewed journal providing critical commentary on therapeutic topics for health professionals, particularly doctors in general practice. It is published by National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS), an independent, non-profit organisation for Quality Use of Medicines funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.