The amount of errors made in prescribing drugs could be reduced by inviting pharmacists into GP practices to conduct regular medicine reviews, according to research.

The IT-based intervention scheme was found to be cheap and easy to put in place and cost just £75 for each error avoided after six months, the report published online by The Lancet said.

People in pharmacist jobs were invited to analyse prescribing errors at GP practices in the pharmacist-led, information technology-based intervention (Pincer). They then agreed action plans and provided simple feedback on patient records.

Professor Tony Avery from the Division of Primary Care at the University of Nottingham`s Medical School led the study. The trial involved 72 general practices in the UK with a combined patient list of 480,942.

The study`s authors said: "Pincer offers an effective method for reducing a range of medication errors in general practice. An essential prerequisite is the use of electronic health records, which effectively reduces errors.

"The intervention that we have developed will be suitable for implementation in the increasing number of countries where clinical records are now computerised and where the roles of pharmacists to monitor proactively for clinically important medication errors can be extended"

Copyright Press Association 2012

A microchip which delivers drugs direct to a patient`s bloodstream on demand could replace regular injections in the next five years, it has been claimed.

The wirelessly operated microchip, which is wafer-thin and 1.3cm long, has been successfully tested on patients for the first time. The programmable device was used to store 20 doses of the drug teriparatide in tiny reservoirs, and could cut the number of injections carried out by those in nursing jobs.

The drug was released from each reservoir in the device at exactly the right time by a computer which was wirelessly linked to the implant. It was tested on seven women who suffer from osteoporosis aged between 65 and 70 years old.

In future, chips could be operated from far away and contain a range of drugs, the researchers claimed.

Professor Robert Langer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was one of the designers of the microchip. He said: "You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip. You can do remote control deliver, you can do pulsatile drug deliver, and you can deliver multiple drugs."

Copyright Press Association 2012

A university course that prepares nurses who are new to working in general medical practices is the first to receive a prestigious endorsement.

The Foundations of General Practice Nursing course at Plymouth University has now been accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

The RCGP award recognises the course`s importance in improving nurse`s knowledge and understanding. Only a few institutions deliver the course in the UK, which trains those in GP nursing jobs to safely carrying out vital clinical competencies.

Fiona Cook, lecturer in general practice nursing from the university`s School of Nursing and Midwifery, said: "It has been an exciting journey developing the role and scope of the General Practice Nursing team in the South West.

"We are hopeful that national recognition through the RCGP and the support we are providing initiatives across the UK will further encourage the development of programmes across the country so that the provision of high quality, competence-focussed education becomes the norm, rather than the exception, for general practice nurses."

The course is taught in Exeter and has been nationally praised as a model of excellence.

Copyright Press Association 2012

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have been given guidance on how to deal with complicated issues relating to consent, confidentiality and keeping clear sexual boundaries.

The new guidance to those in pharmacy jobs is included in four new documents from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). It will help the pharmacy professionals meet standards relating to ethics, performance and conduct.

Pharmacists are encouraged to take action if they believe patients are at risk, while they are also told where to go if they want to raise concerns. The guidance on consent gives pharmacists tips on how to assess a patient`s capacity to give consent, while advice on how to avoid breaching sexual boundaries and the use of chaperones is also included.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said pharmacists often find themselves in challenging ethical situations.

Mr Rudkin said: "This guidance has been developed in response to feedback from our registrants and others that further advice on these topics would be useful. We would urge all registrants to read these new publications, so they know what to do if they face these issues in their practice.

"Our thanks go to everyone who helped us to develop the guidance by sharing their comments during our `taking a view` exercise last year. We also received suggestions for other guidance that may be useful, which we are now exploring."

Copyright Press Association 2012