
Parasite-killing medications fighting malaria & blindness recognised in 2015 Nobel Prize winners in Physiology & Medicine
Professional role (e.g. Medical scientists), Satoshi Omura and William Campbell, and researcher, Youyou Tu have all clinched this year’s prestigious Nobel Prize for their work in the discovery of life-saving medicines. Discovering the bacteria, Steptomyces, Japanese microbiologist, Satoshi Omura was able to isolate samples of the bacteria, known to produce antibacterial agents, which he then…

How to Be MedicineWise while pregnant or breastfeeding – October 12, 2015
Australians are encouraged to be “medicinewise at all ages & life stages” during Be MedicineWise Week, October 12-18, 2015. The campaign kicked-off today with a focus on pregnancy and breastfeeding, after a recent NPS Medicine Wise survey of Australian women who were pregnant or had a child 11 years or younger revealed 33 per cent…

TGA recommendation to reschedule codeine analgesics to S4 in June 2016
The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling has made an interim recommendation to reschedule codeine-containing products from S3 (Pharmacist Only Medicine) to S4 (Prescription Only Medicine) from June 2016. The decision is predicated on risk dependence and the adverse effects of codeine-based products compared to newly released forms of ibuprofen and paracetamol…

Proactive patient reminder potential key to improving pneumococcal vaccination rates among older Australians – October 1, 2015
Implementing an efficient reminder system to prompt Australians aged 65 and above to receive their free pneumococcal vaccination may be pivotal to improving the low 54 per cent vaccination rates among this at-risk population.1 Findings from the Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccination General Practice Nurse survey reveal while many general practice nurses acknowledge having some sort of…

Be sun aware this summer by booking a Blooms The Chemist Skin Cancer SpotCheck today – October 1, 2015
More than 12,500 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed in Australia each year. According to the Melanoma Institute of Australia, skin cancer, including melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, is Australia’s most common cancer. This October, Blooms The Chemist Sun Awareness Clinics are helping to keep Aussies sun aware, by identifying moles and skin spots that…

GP consultation encouraged in prescribing opioids for crash victims
New findings released reveal opioid use has tripled from 11 percent pre-injury to 33 per cent during the 18 months post-injury, according to a study that examined PBS medication use by 700 people injured on Victorian roads between 2010 and 2012. The Monash University Injury Research Institute of Melbourne study showed Oxycodone was the most…

Planning to travel? Know your rabies risk, this World Rabies Day – September 28, 2015
Across the world, September 28 marks World Rabies Day – a global initiative that aims to raise awareness of the fatal impact of the viral disease and the importance of prevention through immunisation. According to Rabies Alliance rabies is responsible for an estimated 59,000 deaths a year world-wide. Rabies is endemic throughout South East Asia,…