World Antibiotic Awareness Week and European Antibiotic Awareness Day

World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) takes place from 14th – 20th November 2016 and European Antibiotic Awareness Day takes place on 18th November 2016. As you will no doubt be aware, one of the greatest threats we face globally is that resistance to existing antibiotics is increasing. Our UK Independent Review on AMR, led by Lord Jim O’Neill and published in May highlighted that unless we act to tackle this issue now, by 2050 there could be up to 10 million deaths and an economic cost of £66 trillion. Ensuring that we protect the effectiveness of our existing antibiotics and […]

Electronic repeat dispensing toolkit

Electronic repeat dispensing (eRD) is an integral part of EPS, which offers many extra benefits over paper repeat dispensing and repeat prescribing.

NHS Digital have recently published an Electronic Repeat Dispensing Toolkit, available at which contains useful tools. You can also sign up for some eRD webinars to find out more. The toolkit includes an e-learning package, developed by NECS in conjunction with NHS Digital which can also be accessed through the NECS Medicines website.

Lamotrigine – is it safe to take while breastfeeding?

This updated Medicines Q&A evaluates the available evidence for the safety of lamotrigine in breastfeeding mothers

NECS Medicines Optimisation Newsletter November 2016

The Medicines Optimisation newsletter is a collection of news articles which have all recently appeared on the news feed on the NECS Medicines website https://medicines.necsu.nhs.uk.

You can also sign up for RSS updates which deliver news articles straight into your inbox when they are published on the website, and follow us on twitter @necsmedicines for regular updates and links to useful information.

Q&A How can you minimise the risks of medication errors with buprenorphine patches?

Transdermal buprenorphine patches are widely prescribed and available from a variety of manufacturers. A number of patient safety incidents have occurred in the use of transdermal opiate patches and concerns have been raised nationally about errors seen with these products. There are two groups of buprenorphine patches, lower strength and higher strength and there are at least 8 different brands and 21 individual preparations in each of the low and  high strength categories.   This Q&A, prepared by UK Medicines Information (UKMi) pharmacists for NHS healthcare professionals aims to cover a number of topics in order to improve the safety of buprenorphine patch […]

High Strength, Fixed Combination and Biosimilar Insulin Products: Minimising the Risk of Medication Error

A new document has been posted on the NECS MO website.
High Strength, Fixed Combination and Biosimilar Insulin Products: Minimising the Risk of Medication Error. This is a briefing document which summarises the current guidance and recommendations on ways to minimise the risk of medication errors with newer insulin preparations.

Fosfomycin 3g Sachets – Updated product information

Fosfomycin is a broad spectrum antibiotic, used for the treatment of lower UTIs due to ESBL (extended spectrum beta-lactamase) producing bacteria. Fosfomycin should only be prescribed on the advice of a microbiologist A licensed 3g fosfomycin sachet, for the treatment of urinary tract infection on the recommendation of a microbiologist, is now available in the branded form of Monuril®. This is the only marketed brand of Fosfomycin 3g sachet currently available in the UK, licensed for the treatment of acute lower uncomplicated urinary tract infections, caused by pathogens sensitive to fosfomycin in adults and adolescent females. Fosfomycin 3g sachets are […]

Retigabine (Trobalt®) product withdrawal

Retigabine (Trobalt®) is to be withdrawn from the market in June 2017. This product is being discontinued because of limited and declining use. A letter for healthcare professionals outlines advice for healthcare providers to begin seeking alternative treatment for affected patients, and to withdraw treatment with a gradual dose reduction over at least 3 weeks. No new patients should start retigabine treatment.