Rub shoulders with Kerri Barwick MPS (centre) and other members of team PSA at CPC24[/caption]
The use of insulin, considered a high-risk medication with APINCHs classification,5 Ms Barwick notes, provides justification for a Home Medicines Review (HMR). ‘There’s an advantage to going into the home to observe the patient’s diet, consider potential interactions, and educate patients on the best effects and outcomes,’ she says.
Advice around cleaning blood glucose level (BGL) monitors to ensure accuracy can also be provided. ‘Pharmacists can explain how to put test drops through and clean blood spills on the monitor, common in pregnancy due to higher blood volume,’ says Ms Barwick.
With only 50% of women diagnosed with GDM receiving tests for heart disease and type 2 diabetes post-pregnancy,6 HMRs can be beneficial at this stage of the journey, too.
‘Along with conversations around diet choices, exercise regimes and sleep, I also explain how often testing is required over the next 5–10 years, and how to monitor for signs of the development of diabetes,’ Ms Barwick advises.
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
The presence of iron in pregnancy multivitamins may exacerbate symptoms of nausea and vomiting in some pregnancies, according to Ms Barwick.
‘Pharmacists can recommend a trial cessation of the iron component of pregnancy vitamins, often unnecessary in pregnancy,’ she says.
In 2020, photographer Bobbi Lockyer created a Birthing on Country project to highlight and create awareness around birthing issues and outcomes in Aboriginal women. For more, see 
Suzanne Nielsen MPS[/caption]
Residents in more than 240 aged care facilities across the country will receive their first vaccine dose against COVID-19 from Monday (22 February).
Between mid-March and late April last year, the Pharmacists’ Support Service received a massive 88% increase in calls from distressed pharmacists compared with the same period in 2019,
Residential medication management reviews have proven to be beneficial in identifying medicine-related problems, so why are they so under-utilised?
A head for business and a desire to improve medicine safety inspired PSA Life Member Rob Richards to develop a digital opioid substitution therapy system that helps pharmacists and patients.
After years of little movement in downscheduling of medicines in Australia, 2021 will usher in a flurry of activity – but Appendix M remains conspicuously empty.
In a world of information overload, how can pharmacists prevent patients from falling into a medicine-induced downward spiral?
Every day Australians swallow millions of pills without much awareness of adverse effects or drug interactions.
Problems with medicines are ‘alarmingly common’,...
With medicine shortages continuing to be an issue for the foreseeable future, pharmacists share how they are managing patients’ conditions and expectations.
A proposal to support residential aged care facilities to directly engage pharmacists is among the strategic measures put forward by PSA in its 2021–22 Federal Budget Submission.
After 119 years, the indispensable pharmacists’ reference guide has evolved to match practice with its second digital as well as 25th print edition.
The 2021 Australia Day Honours List included several high profile pharmacists and educators in the profession.
