Original papers and short reports

To assess the feasibility of implementing a clinical teaching pharmacist programme to improve prescribing skills among newly qualified preregistration house officers. Medication errors encompass any error in the process of ordering, dispensing, or administering a drug. Various members of the health care team may be involved, and such errors can lead to serious patient morbidity or mortality

To identify whether a proactive clinical pharmacy review of a patient’s treatment at the point of admission could potentially avoid adverse events. Medication errors are a significant cause of patient morbidity and mortality

To compare prescribing costs of non-dispensing and dispensing doctors, to ascertain significant differences in the use of specific categories of drugs and to identify other factors contributing to differences in overall prescribing costs. Primary care trusts in England are grappling with the promotion of cost effective prescribing in an era of national policy guidance that encourages greater use of medicines

To investigate current provision of nicotine replacement therapy by community pharmacists in Wandsworth Primary Care Trust. Worldwide, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death

To observe the prescribing habits of all Primary Care prescribers and dispensing of liquid medication to children under 16 to examine if sugar free was specified on the prescription. The use of medicines is the most common therapeutic intervention carried out in the NHS

To investigate the factors that will enable or inhibit the implementation of non-medical prescribing. Pharmacists, doctors and nurses have all claimed professional status although the sociological literature shows that the degree of such status varies between them

To undertake a national study of teaching, learning and assessment in UK schools of pharmacy. A major responsibility of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain is ensuring that undergraduate and postgraduate training equips pharmacists with the knowledge and skills they need to practise.

To identify and describe governance and performance management activity in primary care trusts in England relating to the provision of pharmaceutical services. Setting standards and monitoring performance activity are central to the delivery of quality and equitable health services

To identify (i) the enhanced services primary care trusts had commissioned, (ii) whether the service had been commissioned before the start of the new community pharmacy contract, (iii) the contractual option used, (iv) the number of community pharmacies providing the service and (v) their plans for commissioning in the future. Since April 2005, primary care trusts have had the option to commission services locally from community pharmacies through the enhanced service tier of the new contractual framework

To identify factors which primary care trusts consider to be barriers and drivers to the commissioning of services from community pharmacies.  Since 2002 the commissioning of health services has been a core responsibility of primary care trusts.