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COVID-19 – Ibuprofen Concerns – BBC Reality Check
The BBC Reality Check service have published several “myth-busting” items addressing rumours, theories, misunderstandings and downright falsehoods currently circulating due to concern and anxiety about COVID-19. These include a potentially helpful article on the concerns about the possible impact of NSAIDs. The BBC report includes the following: Although we don’t yet know whether ibuprofen has a particular effect on the severity or length of illnesses caused by coronavirus – either in healthy people or those with underlying conditions – Dr Charlotte Warren-Gash, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says, especially for vulnerable patients, “it seems sensible to stick […]
COVID-19 – Ibuprofen & other NSAIDs
All relevant healthcare professionals working in primary and community care in England should by now have received the Important Information for Immediate Action distributed 17/03/20 via the Central Alert System on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer for NHS England. The CMO message [CEM-CMO-2020-010] included the following information and advice: There appears to be some evidence that NSAIDs may have an adverse impact on pneumonia linked to SARS1. There is also some literature suggesting NSAIDs may increase complications from simple acute respiratory infections or slow recovery. The evidence is not conclusive. There appears to be no evidence that NSAIDs increase […]
COVID-19 – Pharmacy Regulators’ Statement
The General Pharmaceutical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have issued a joint statement on their “Regulatory approach in challenging circumstances“. The statement includes the following important information and advice about unavoidable absences: We recognise there may be situations where the responsible pharmacist unavoidably has to leave the pharmacy at short notice part-way through the day, (e.g. if they are unwell and need to self-isolate). Where no locum cover can be secured at the pharmacy, and recognising the potential effects of the current pandemic, it would be in the patient’s best interest for medicines already dispensed to be […]
COVID-19- Oxford University Primary Care Resource
The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University have developed a Coronavirus Analysis and Resources webpage – to share the results of their “research, surveillance and evidence synthesis expertise in support of efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.” The page will be updated daily with new resources, reports and projects. The page links to the Oxford CEBM COVID-19 Evidence Service – with additional content relevant to primary care, including a guide to video consultations.
COVID-19 – Oxford CEBM Evidence Service
The Oxford University Centre for Evidence Based Medicine has launched a new webpage to help provide answers to some of the many questions about COVID-19 – including many that are relevant to medicines use & prescribing in primary care. The CEBM team have committed their “skills and expertise in evidence synthesis and dissemination to the effort against the current COVID-19 pandemic.” One of the first questions to be addressed is whether it is OK for people with asthma to continue to use their inhaled steroids. The answer is YES – continued and regular use of inhaled steroids (and good asthma control) […]
COVID-19 – Medicines Homecare Services
The National Clinical Homecare Association (NCHA) – the trade body representing the majority of organisations providing Clinical Homecare Services on behalf of the NHS – yesterday puiblished the following COVID-19 information for patients on their website: Most existing Medicines Homecare Services are continuing as normal. Your homecare provider customer services will contact you if they need to make different arrangements to ensure your treatment continues as planned. Routine homecare medicine deliveries continue as normal, but we will be implementing “social distancing” so you will not be asked to sign for your delivery and driver may appear more distant than usual […]
Supply Issues & Shortages – DHSC and NHSE&I Guide
The DHSC and NHSE&I jointly published a Guide to Managing Medicines Supply and Shortages in November 2019. The guide sets out the approach taken by the DHSC Medicines Supply Team and NHS&I Commercial Medicines Unit, with information on: intelligence; information gathering; risk assessment; categorisation; escalation routes; management options and communication methods. The DHSC and NHSE&I teams and the multi-disciplinary pan-system Medicines Shortage Response Group assign shortage issues to one of four tiers: Tier 1 (low impact): These supply issues are likely to carry low risk. Management options should result in patients being maintained on the same licensed medicine. Covered by […]
COVID-19 – OTC Painkiller Demand Surge
Amid news reports of panic buying of paracetamol, the Executive Director of the Healthcare Distribution Association — the membership organisation for UK wholesalers — has told the Pharmaceutical Journal that there are currently no [COVID-19 related] medicines shortages in the UK. Adding that: “There may be cases where deliveries into pharmacies may not be the [entire] amount they ordered because they are ordering a lot more than they would normally, so they are not getting the whole delivery the first time. The situation is just like supermarkets — they’ve got enough food but people are taking things off the shelves. We’ve got […]