NEWS
CONFERENCE PUTS THEORY INTO PRACTICE
NEW POLICY DOCUMENT BRINGS Professor Lawrence speaks to the students
A special event was held recently at Robert Gordon University (RGU) to educate students on the usefulness of pharmaceutics.
The ‘Science in Practice’ afternoon saw students from Stage Two of the Pharmacy course hear from several different speakers about how a knowledge and appreciation of pharmaceutics can be useful for practice pharmacists.
Pharmaceutics is the science of medicines and the discipline of pharmacy that deals with the process of turning a chemical entity or drugs into medication that can be used safely and effectively by patients.
This is the second year of the ‘Science
in Practice’ event and it attracted practitioners and professionals from areas such as veterinary pharmacy, substance misuse Pharmacy and clinical pharmacy.
The keynote speaker was Professor Jayne Lawrence, Professor of Biophysical Pharmaceutics at King’s College London and Chief Scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Professor Lawrence spoke to the students about the pharmacists’ unique role within the healthcare team as experts in medicine, using practical examples to contextualise the importance of the integrated knowledge that pharmacists develop of science and practice.
RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGH FOR PHARMACY
Information on significant properties of pharmaceutical tablets, such as their mechanical strength and dissolution, can now be obtained without resorting to the conventional, time-consuming and destructive testing methods, according to a new study completed at the University of Eastern Finland.
A new structural descriptive parameter based on terahertz (THz) time-domain techniques allow for a non-invasive detection of pharmaceutical tablet parameters, constituting a research breakthrough in the field of pharmacy.
The study focused on non-contact quality inspection of pharmaceutical tablets using terahertz time-domain techniques. Terahertz radiation represents the far end of the infrared band and it has unique properties that permit a quick and safe identification of pharmaceutical tablet properties. Using THz radiation, which is invisible and safe for human beings, it is possible to determine what a tablet is made of, including the nature of its constituents and how
they are arranged. To this effect, the study has developed a novel structural descriptive parameter for pharmaceutical tablets, addressing the orientation of their microscopic structure. The parameter provides information on the pattern of arrangement of the various particulates as well as air pores within a tablet.
This fast and non-destructive screening method has significant applications in the inspection of the quality of individual tablets during production, providing information on the amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient, tablet porosity and weight, among other things.
The doctoral dissertation by Prince Bawuah, MSc, entitled ‘Terahertz time- domain study on selected parameters of pharmaceutical tablets using effective medium approximation’ is available for download at: http://
epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978- 952-61-2311-0/urn_isbn_978-952-61- 2311-0.pdf
Improving Care for People with Long Term Conditions
HOPE TO MILLIONS Approximately two million people in Scotland are living with at least one long-term condition, which impacts on their quality of life in human, social and economic terms. But now, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland has given hope to many with the publication of its policy document on the role of pharmaceutical care for people with long-term conditions (LTCs). The document outlines how the Society believes pharmacist led care of people with long-term conditions could deliver better results and be more cost effective.
The policy focuses on the essential role of the pharmacist as part of a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the challenges facing the NHS in providing the highest quality care and support for people with long term conditions.
This Scottish document is part of the wider RPS campaign supporting people with long-term conditions, and follows the launch of the English and Welsh versions.
‘This campaign gives us a great
opportunity to further promote the role of the pharmacist in caring for people with long-term conditions,’ said John McAnaw, Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board, ‘and clearly outlines what is needed to allow further ‘added value’ in the delivery of frontline care. Wherever pharmacists are practising, they should have a greater role and profile in the delivery of care to people with long-term conditions, and I look forward to engaging with the Scottish Government and fellow health professions in enabling this to happen.
‘With an increasing number of people living with one or multiple long-term condition(s) in Scotland, we already know that the pharmacist’s expertise in the use medicines and in supporting self-management strategies can help people achieve the right outcomes from treatment. However, more can be done, and if pharmacists are given the right tools, support and access to the clinical information they need they will help maximise patient outcomes.’
December 2016
SCOTTISH PHARMACIST - 59
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