Editorial
Welcome to the March 2011 edition of i2P.
The month of February has seen free enterprise in the pharmaceutical industry breaking out of the mould that is regulated health and upsetting any semblance of balance within community pharmacy.
Government negotiated price reductions with Big Pharma collided head-on with the new business model from Pfizer Direct and its potential to destabilise the entire supply chain process and the supply of medicines under the PBS.
This process has been described in eloquent detail by Neil Retallick, in his article “New landscape, new directions, new Government role in community pharmacy?”
Columns
Rollo Manning: Pharma-Goss
Dr Linda Bryant (PGDipPharm, MPharm, DPharm(Auck), FACPP, FNZCP, FPSNZ, MCAPA): Inside NZ
Loretta Marron BSc: Health Watch
Barry Urquhart: Marketing Focus
Mark Neuenschwander: I`ve been thinking about...Recent Comments
Past Editions
Volume 1 Number 1
Volume 1 Number 2
Volume 1 Number 3
Volume 1 Number 4
Volume 1 Number 5
Volume 1 Number 6
Volume 1 Number 7
Volume 2 Number 1
Volume 2 Number 2
Volume 2 Number 3
Volume 2 Number 4
Volume 2 Number 5
Volume 2 Number 6
Volume 2 Number 7
Volume 2 Number 8
Volume 2 Number 9
Volume 2 Number 10
Volume 2 Number 11
Volume 3 Number 1
Volume 3 Number 2
Volume 3 Number 3
Volume 3 Number 4
Volume 3 Number 5
Volume 3 Number 6
Volume 3 Number 7
Volume 3 Number 8
Volume 3 Number 9
Volume 3 Number 10
Volume 3 Number 11
Volume 4 Number 1
Volume 4 Number 2
Volume 4 Number 3
Volume 4 Number 4
Volume 4 Number 5
Volume 4 Number 6
Volume 4 Number 7
Volume 4 Number 8
Volume 4 Number 9
Volume 4 Number 10
Volume 4 Number 11
Volume 5 Number 1
Volume 5 Number 2
Volume 5 Number 3
Volume 5 Number 4
Volume 5 Number 5
Pharma News
Peter Jackson: Big Pharma Sneezes- Community Pharmacy Catches Pneumonia
Neil Johnston: Wholesaler Guarantees Lose Value.Hospital News
Kay Dunkley - BPharm, Grad Dip Hosp Pharm, Grad Dip Health Admin, MPS, MSHPA: Continuity of care – discharge from hospital | open full screen
Health Politics
Neil Retallick: New landscape, new directions, new Government role in community pharmacy? | open full screen
Staff Writer: Aged Care Delivery - Gillard Government Assumes Full Responsibility | open full screen
Climate Change
GP Super Clinics
EPublications
ASMI Media Releases February 2011
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PDF version | Bob Bowden |
Information and news from the Australian Self Medication Industry provided by Bob Bowden, Foresight Communications. Contact him on (02) 9241 2811 or 0412 753 298.He is supported by Filomena Maiese (ASMI Marketing & Business Development Director) and Michelle Sollitt-Davis (ASMI PR Manager). | |
About ASMI: The Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) is the peak industry body for the Australian self care industry representing consumer healthcare products including over-the-counter medicines and complementary medicines. ASMI’s mission is to promote better health through responsible self-care. This means ensuring that safe and effective self-care products are readily available to all Australians at a reasonable cost. ASMI works to encourage responsible use by consumers and an increasing role for cost-effective self-medication products as part of the broad national health strategy. www.asmi.com.au
22 February 2011
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) and fracture risk
The Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) is aware of a newly published observational cohort study conducted in Denmark[i] which identifies a potential association between the long-term use of high-dose PPIs and reduced efficacy of alendronate (oral bisphosphonate) in preventing hip fractures amongst elderly patients.
This was an observational cohort study and therefore had some limitations as well as a number of strengths. One of the important limitations was that it could not determine whether the change in hip fracture risk was causally related to PPI use or whether it was due to other factors such as comorbidities or medication compliance. In assessing their findings, the authors stated that:
”In our study, PPI users benefited less from alendronate in terms of hip fracture risk than did nonusers. We included both comorbidity and comedication terms in the base models, but because the 2 groups may differ in other, unmeasured confounders it remains possible that the difference in alendronate response is driven not by PPIs themselves but by differences in nonskeletal risk factors for osteoporosis that would not respond to bisphosphonates.”
ASMI Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director, Steven Scarff noted the following important findings from the study:
* For Defined Daily Doses of PPI below 360 there was no impact on fracture risk.
* For persons younger than 70 years of age there was no impact on fracture risk.
This study reveals a loss of protection against hip fracture with alendronate in elderly patients taking high doses of PPIs for long periods of time. Of relevance to over-the-counter (OTC) users of PPIs, this study also shows that:
* Short term PPI use was not associated with a higher fracture risk compared to no PPI use.
* The fracture risk for persons under 70 years of age is unchanged whether the person uses a PPI or not.
PPIs that are available OTC in Australia are for short-term use (a maximum of 14 days) at half the Defined Daily Doses used in the Abrahamsen study and are Pharmacist Only Medicines. No medicine is without risk and this study will assist pharmacists in determining the suitability of PPIs for each individual.
__________________________________________________________________
About ASMI: The Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) is the peak industry body for the Australian self care industry representing consumer healthcare products including over-the-counter medicines and complementary medicines. ASMI’s mission is to promote better health through responsible self-care. This means ensuring that safe and effective self-care products are readily available to all Australians at a reasonable cost. ASMI works to encourage responsible use by consumers and an increasing role for cost-effective self-medication products as part of the broad national health strategy. www.asmi.com.au
Media contact: Bob Bowden, Foresight Communications (02) 9241 2811, 0412 753 298
[1] Abrahamsen B et al. Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and the Antifracture Efficacy of Alendronate. Arch Intern Med, 2011, Feb 14. [Epub ahead of print]
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Research Reports
Dr Andrew Byrne & Associates: Like randomised trials, patients choosing methadone also have much better retention. Practice Development
Peter Sayers: Getting an Edge in Pharmacy DesignStaff Writer: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly popular in maternity care. | open full screen
Information Technology
Pat Gallagher: We can’t answer until we are asked
Dr David More: Health It Update February 2011Indigenous Health
Preventive Medicine
Staff Writer: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly popular in maternity care. | open full screen
Staff Writer: Database to predict and prevent disease from spreading a world-first | open full screen
Aged Care
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