Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder which results in patients having significantly increased levels of serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The high cholesterol levels are caused by a deficiency or a defect in the LDL receptor which results in severe and premature coronary artery disease.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder which results in patients having significantly increased levels of serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The high cholesterol levels are caused by a deficiency or a defect in the LDL receptor which results in severe and premature coronary artery disease.

To identify training needs among Hospital Pharmacy Managers, to improve competency and create development opportunities.

Aim

To develop a diagnostic tool in order to assess Hospital Pharmacy Managers competency levels and identify training needs.

A chronic wound should not be viewed nor managed in isolation and it should be realised that it is only a part of the bigger picture. It is imperative to find and manage the underlying cause of any chronic wound before treating the chronic wound itself. It must always be borne in mind that the chronic wound manifests as a result of an underlying condition.

Charlie’s Pharmacy is a typical old type, family-run pharmacy. His trusty wife, Mona (yes, she was inclined to do so, often), his female pharmacist’s assistants (“Charlie’s Angels” as he called them fondly, except they weren’t always), and driver made up the team. Wanting to take things easier, Charlie agreed verbally (1. Is a written contract necessary?) with a self-styled independent contactor locum, Dennis Dros, a retired pharmacist, that he would relieve in the pharmacy for four months, for four days a week for four hours a day, at R9000 pm. (2. Is he really an independent contractor?)

After the initial euphoria that at last something had materialised which promised to ensure fair and transparent pricing of pharmaceutical products, it has become absolutely clear that these regulations, if not amended, will be to the detriment of the supply of products in all sectors of the pharmaceutical industry.

September 2003 was my fourth exposure and involvement in the annual meeting of the seven nation group of community pharmacists that has become known as “Pharmintercom” and which has now met regularly for the past fifteen years. Before proceeding with this year’s report, I feel it is appropriate to record the involvement of Dave Pleaner as a founder member and participant in almost all of these meetings. More recently, he has made way for the “younger generation” to attend, but continues to provide the input for our participation. Dave’s early vision and ongoing involvement has resulted in very strong ties being maintained with key organisations and individuals in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the USA. These have all been to the benefit of South African pharmacy as will be evidenced in this report.

Evolution or revolution? Should we view our present climate of change as part of the evolutionary process or would we benefit from a revolutionary mindset? Organisations that survive are those that learn and innovate. We will find out what this means in times of rapid change. You will be asked to assess your mindset as the manager of a learning organisation. We will identify what it means to look, listen, learn and do as a learning organisation. Finally, there is an option to pick up some golfing take-aways.

Good grief! I don’t know about you, but my head’s spinning. I can’t keep up with all the arguments, counterarguments, pain, panic, anger, discussions, meetings – all the activities and emotions that the new year has brought to pharmacy. So I think I’ll just speak about golf this month. I might as well. At the end of last year, I went to a Golf Day held by the Pretoria branch. Then at the first Council meeting of the year, everyone shared golf frustrations. At the first PSSA Exco meeting of the year, what did I hear? You guessed it. Golf. And, blow me down, at a Council education committee meeting yesterday, with yet another group of people, what did they talk about? Golf. So maybe I should change my attitude and learn something about golf

Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences 25th Annual Conference

The 25th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences will be held at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, from the 12th to the 15th September 2004.

Human touch is one of our most primal needs. Without touch, infants fail to thrive, depressed persons are denied comfort, and optimal pain relief is often not obtained. In therapeutic massage, touch is used to induce relaxation and well-being. Massage seems to stimulate one’s natural healing abilities.