Healthcare professionals do not often discuss swallowing difficulties, particularly a patient’s ability to swallow solid oral dosage forms. Learning objectives After reading this article, pharmacists should be able to: identify patients who would benefit from a discussion around altering medicine...

More research has been urged after the creator of a breakthrough test for detecting Alzheimer’s disease said the test could be combined with daily doses of ibuprofen to eliminate the disease. In a recently published Journal of Alzheimer's Disease paper,...

Pharmacists can provide advice to breastfeeding women on using medicines that are compatible with breastfeeding and on how to minimise infant exposure to medicines via breast milk. Learning objectives After reading this article, pharmacists should be able to: Discuss with...

Obesity is a chronic and complex health condition, with obese people being at significantly higher risk of morbidity and mortality. Learning objectives After reading this article, pharmacists should be able to: Describe risks and complications associated with being overweight or...

Pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is a common presentation in a community pharmacy, with many patients seeking advice on complementary and alternative medicines that can relieve pain. OA is the most common form of arthritis in Australia, occurring in...

Schizophrenia is a chronic illness characterised by a range of symptoms including positive and negative symptoms. Examples of positive symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre and inappropriate behaviour. Negative symptoms include affective flattening, lack of speech, lack of motivation...

A 76-year-old man with past medical history significant for a cerebrovascular accident, pacemaker insertion for sick sinus syndrome and transurethral resection for benign prostatic hyperplasia was rushed to the emergency department.1 The ambient temperature on the day of admission was...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been ranked as serious a threat to society as terrorism. With millions of lives at risk, and trillions in GDP potentially lost, antibiotic misuse must be prevented to avoid widespread resistance. Today, no-one expects a scratch...

With over-the-counter (OTC) codeine products being upscheduled, pharmacists and pharmacy staff need to review and understand every patient’s pain. In doing so, there’s an opportunity to provide better care and develop deeper relationships with those customers. Much debate and uncertainty...

We know that there are high levels of medicines use in the aged care setting, which is not surprising given the demographics of residents and prevalence of multimorbidity. We also know that there are problems with medication management in this...