Original papers and short reports

Josie Solomon and Tim Harrison have audited prescription “owings” in community pharmacy, using the IMPACT method of service evaluation

Josie Solomon and Tim Harrison have evaluated prescription “owings” in community pharmacy, using a traditional audit cycle

Later in this issue short reports describe two methods of auditing prescription owings in a community pharmacy. Rachel Roberts, RPS research manager, compares the methods

This paper describes research from Cornwall suggesting that pharmacists are well placed to help improve the knowledge of hospital staff on the use of antibiotics for patients with penicillin allergy

Michelle Black and Gemma Glaves have evaluated pharmacy interventions in Sheffield and it appears that medicines optimisation is best when health and social care work together

David Larkin and John Sexton describe an audit at a Liverpool hospital which showed that pharmacists are essential to the safe discharge of patients from hospital

Alyson Warren is part of the NHS Highland Polypharmacy Action Group, which has developed a guideline to help reduce polypharmacy and the potential for adverse events

This paper describes an audit that aimed to ascertain, and then improve, adherence to allergy policy within the intensive care unit at a London hospital

Gary Warner and Kevin Noble describe how asking patients about repeat prescriptions threw light on areas that could be tackled to reduce England’s £300m waste medicines bill

This paper aims to investigate current practices of community pharmacists in relation to smoking cessation advice and to explore the reasons for differences in approaches to recruitment of clients and outcomes