The Pharmacist

Time was that many community pharmacist–general practice relationships were narrowly based around the prescribing–dispensing interface.

Criminals cloned the websites and social media of one-in-10 online pharmacies last year in order to trick patients into buying fake weight-loss medication, a new survey has revealed. The poll by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) also found that 96% of pharmacies felt they received an insufficient response when they reported these incidents to social media companies.

The launch of the new Royal College of Pharmacy today is a 'landmark moment' that 'heralds a new era' for the sector, its inaugural president has said. The transition of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) into the new royal college comes a year after its members voted in favour of changes to the society’s Royal Charter. The inaugural president of the Royal College of Pharmacy, Tase Oputu, said the launch of the new organisation was just the ‘beginning of the journey’.

A new single-dose injection device for the highest dose of Wegovy has been approved by the UK medicines regulator. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said today that the new single-dose 7.2mg semaglutide pen had been approved to treat adult patients who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30kg/m² or higher.

The spring Covid vaccination programme gets under way today, targeting the people most at risk of serious illness. There are no changes to the eligible cohorts for the 2026/27 season compared to last year: Related Article: Grey-market peptides: what pharmacists need to know • Individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed. The eligibility is the same across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Adults aged over 65 with chronic respiratory disease should be offered the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, government advisors have concluded. A review by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) found that RSV vaccination should be offered to those aged 65 to 74 who have: The update comes after the committee recommended universal RSV vaccination for all those aged over 75 years.

As the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) transition into the Royal College of Pharmacy picks up pace a number of new appointments have been made to key positions in the new organisation. The election of the first president of the future royal college was announced at the end of March, following the establishment of advisory councils for England, Scotland and Wales.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has backed proposals to retain the 'one pharmacy rule' for responsible pharmacists in its response to a General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) consultation. The rule means a responsible pharmacist – who oversee the day-to-day running of the pharmacy including the safe and effective operation of the business – can only be responsible for one pharmacy premises at any given time.

Around a third of people who died from chronic illness did not receive the benefits they were entitled to in the final year of their lives, according to a new analysis. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, released for the first time, found there was significant variation by condition of people taking up non-means tested disability benefits available through the Special Rules for End of Life.

Tase Oputu has been elected as the first president of the future Royal College of Pharmacy. Her appointment is another key milestone in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) transition into becoming a royal college on 15 April. The appointment was made by the newly established advisory councils for England, Scotland and Wales, which will develop pharmacy policy and practice in their nations as part of the new college.