New resources for pharmacists with respiratory patients ... ow the organisation can help them. Over 12 million people in the UK suffer from lung disease and 550,000 new diagnoses are made each year. An estimated 1.2 million people are living with diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and prevalence is increasing. Quality support ‘We recognise that community pharmacy has a key role in the management of lung disease and supporting people to understand their condition,’ ... Date: 22-02-2017 Categories: • Respiratory

How to help patients quit smoking ... th and premature death in the UK, killing an estimated 100,000 people every year – or one in six of all deaths.5 Most smoking-related deaths are from one of three main classes of disease; cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coronary artery diseases.  However, chronic tobacco use can result in numerous lesser-known disorders including macular degeneration, digestive system disorders, skin complaints and disord ... Date: 23-03-2017 Categories: • Clinical • Latest News • News • Respiratory

The complexity of COPD and medication adherence ... use of COPD, so smoking cessation may be one way of successfully managing the condition Between 20% and 50% of COPD patients are non-adherent, the main problem being misunderstanding medication chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is recognised as one of the most common respiratory diseases in the UK, with over 5 million people diagnosed.[1,2] Maintaining 'quality of life' is dependent on a range of care, including pres ... Date: 07-04-2017 Categories: • Clinical • News • Respiratory

How shortages are affecting me: ‘We had patients gasping for breath waiting for inhalers we couldn't supply' ... ng on the pharmacies he heads up Tony Schofield, superintendent, Flagg Court pharmacy, South Shields ‘We had a serious problem the week before Easter when we’d breached our quota for an inhaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease…we had patients who were gasping for breath, sitting in the pharmacy and waiting for a product that we were unable to supply. ‘We are restricted in the amount we can have [of this product] and if ... Date: 09-05-2018 Categories: • News

RPS: NMS should include mental health medicines ... hich was published on 24 May and looked at how pharmacy services are underused in the community and mental health sectors. At the moment, the NMS only covers long-term conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.   Better integration needed   Ms Gidley also argued that training around mental health should be ‘part and parcel of undergraduate an ... Date: 30-05-2018 Categories: • Latest News • Mental health and addiction • News

Social media watch: Pharmacists push for NMS to cover mental health drugs ... ices are underused in the community and mental health sectors, The NMS – an advanced service that forms part of the community pharmacy contract – currently covers four conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. 'Follow-up critical' Many pharmacists agreed that the NMS should include mental health medications, as it is critical to follow up patients afte ... Date: 31-05-2018 Categories: • Latest News • Mental health and addiction • News

How our inhaler technique service is improving patients' lives ... ey, Manchester, about how their inhaler technique service is improving local patients’ lives Adequate inhaler technique is essential to the management of long-term lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Ravi Solanki, a pharmacist at Davina Pharmacy in Manchester, has seen first-hand the benefits of delivering an inhaler technique service to local patients. Mr Solanki recalls one particular ... Date: 21-06-2018 Categories: • Clinical Ambassadors • Minor ailments

How to set up an inhaler technique service in your pharmacy ... municate how the service works   Why inhaler technique services are important   Inhaler technique services provide support for patients with long-term respiratory conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.   Asthma is the most common lung disease in the UK, affecting 5.4 million people, but recent reports have warned that basic care for patients is still not up to scratch. ... Date: 25-06-2018 Categories: • News

Restrict antibiotic prescribing for COPD, NICE urges Antibiotics should be restricted when used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence (NICE) has urged. In draft guidance published today (9 July) NICE recommended that healthcare professionals prescribe antibiotics ... Date: 09-07-2018 Categories: • Clinical • News

How to help patients quit smoking ... illion smokers are hospital in-patients.[4] There were an estimated 1,579 years of life lost per 100,000 due to smoking attributable illnesses, including various cancers, heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.[5]   Heath complications associated with smoking Smoking or exposure to smoke (passive smoking) is the most commonly encountered and easily identifiable risk factor for many long-term ... Date: 10-09-2018 Categories: • Clinical • Respiratory

Five things that make a ‘clinical’ pharmacist, according to NHS England ... ed medicines optimisation’, the document says. This will include the elderly, people in care homes, those with learning disabilities or autism and people with multiple long-term conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. For patients with learning disabilities, this will follow the Stop Over Medication Programme (STOMP). Patients will be supported to ‘get the best from’ their medication and redu ... Date: 15-04-2019 Categories: • News

FMD alert: More than 60 batches of medication recalled after leaving supply chain ... oducts Regulation Agency (MHRA) has recalled 69 batches of medicines imported from Italy following concerns they were taken out of the regulated supply chain. The eight affected treatments are for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), psoriasis, high cholesterol, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and blood clots. They left the supply chain during distribution and were later re-introduced prior to being imported into the UK by B &am ... Date: 28-06-2019 Categories: • News

Is it better to cut down on smoking or stop completely? ... attributable to smoking. Smoking adversely affects lung function and although lung function normally declines with age, smoking accelerates this age-related decline and is the most common cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, perhaps the greatest risk from smoking is lung cancer. In fact, according to Cancer research UK, smoking accounts for 72% of lung cancer cases in the UK. Although levels of smoking have ... Date: 07-11-2019 Categories: • Community • Views

Transfer NMS from community to practice-based pharmacists, recommend researchers ... S integrates with these primary care service developments.’ The NMS – an advanced service that forms part of the community pharmacy contract – currently covers four conditions including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and those treated with anticoagulant therapy. It has been delivered by community pharmacies since 2011, with 5.7 million consultations provided between ... Date: 04-12-2019 Categories: • Clinical • News

Inhaler trialled in major Covid treatment study ... symptoms can join online from home or via GP practices across the country, without needing face-to-face consultations. Budesonide is commonly prescribed for the long-term management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and is described by the researchers as a safe and inexpensive inhaled corticosteroid, with no serious side-effects linked to short-term use It is the fourth medication to be tested in the PRINCIP ... Date: 27-11-2020 Categories: • News • Respiratory

Shielding reintroduced for clinically extremely vulnerable living in tier 4 ... e marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugspeople with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)people on immunosuppression therapi ... Date: 21-12-2020 Categories: • News

Tens of thousands of people could have undiagnosed COPD, charity warns The rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis fell by half last year, potentially leaving tens of thousands of people living with the condition without realising, a UK charity warns. The British Lung Foundation said COPD diag ... Date: 25-11-2021 Categories: • Clinical

UK death rate for lung disease worst in western Europe   ... st death rate for lung conditions such as asthma in western Europe, new analysis has found.   More than 100,000 people in the UK die from conditions including asthma attacks, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia every year, according to charity Asthma and Lung UK.  It comes as pharmacists are set to offer a smoking cessation service in order to address the gap in the handover bet ... Date: 02-03-2022 Categories: • News

Elevated suicide rate in patients with severe health conditions, ONS data shows ... shed today shows. The analysis included patients diagnosed and treated for the following health conditions in England from 2017 to 2020: chronic ischemic heart conditions, low survival cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The data was based on mortality records linked to the 2011 Census and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). In patients with a COPD diagnosis, the rate of suicide one year after diagnosis was ... Date: 20-04-2022 Categories: • Mental health and addiction

Poor sleep associated with COPD flare-ups Poor sleep is associated with life-threatening flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study led by the University of California San Fransico and supported by the US National Institutes of Health. People who had poor sleep were 25% more likely to suffer a COPD ... Date: 08-06-2022 Categories: • Respiratory

NHS Scotland announces plans to switch patients' inhalers to reduce emissions ... Scotland climate emergency and sustainability strategy: 2022-26, which was published last week, said that about 4.5m metered dose inhalers (MDIs) were dispensed in Scotland in 2020/21 for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The inhalers accounted for more harmful emissions than the combined output from the entire NHS Scotland fleet of vehicles and waste disposal services, said the report. This is needed becau ... Date: 22-08-2022 Categories: • Respiratory

NHS Scotland’s plan to switch to greener inhalers ‘appalling’, says asthma charity ... which will inevitably lead to worsening of asthma control and COPD control.’ Greener inhaler strategy The strategy said that about 4.5m MDIs were dispensed in Scotland in 2020/21 for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They accounted for more harmful emissions than the combined output from the entire NHS Scotland fleet of vehicles and waste disposal services, said the report.  This is because the propell ... Date: 24-08-2022 Categories: • Respiratory

Only a fifth of people with COPD receive fundamentals of care ... This comes after a study led by the University of California San Fransico and supported by the US National Institutes of Health found that poor sleep is associated with life-threatening flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Date: 16-11-2022 Categories: • Respiratory

Air pollution linked to multiple long-term health conditions ... ffic-related air pollution are at greater risk of having multiple health conditions.’ Conditions which were shown to be associated with exposure to high levels of air pollution included asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, strokes, as well as an increased likelihood of substance abuse, depression and anxiety. Dr Ioannis Bakolis, from King’s, said: ‘How air pollution affects multiple organs and system ... Date: 07-12-2022 Categories: • Respiratory

Charity analysis uncovers north-south divide in UK lung health ... es for lung conditions in the UK, according to research by Asthma + Lung UK. The charity analysed and ranked the latest rates of emergency admissions and deaths from chronic conditions – including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory infections like flu and pneumonia – for 216 local authorities throughout the UK and found the basic level of care was ‘patchy’. Asthma + Lung UK’s analysis identified a ‘nor ... Date: 21-03-2023 Categories: • News

Statin tops NHS prescribing once again as total number of items continues to increase ... cost for items dispensed in the community in England, was the steroid beclometasone dipropionate, with a total cost of £316 million in 2023/24. It is primarily used for asthma, but also sometimes for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Apixaban was the substance with the second highest cost, at £239m, while rivaroxaban, edoxaban, omeprazole and atorvastatin were also in the top 10. Last year, apixaban saw the highest ... Date: 06-06-2024 Categories: • Analysis • Analysis • Cardiovascular • Clinical • Community • Diabetes and endocrinology • In Practice • News • Women's health