Canterbury pharmacies only are allowed to use their discretion to

extend close control dispensing without endorsement from the

prescriber beyond 3 March and receive a payment, but from
midnight last night [2 March] other South Island pharmacies require
endorsement to dispense close control, according to a memo from
Pharmac. Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker is urging residents to
wear face masks, which he says the Student Volunteer Army will
help distribute. Radio New Zealand reports last week's earthquake
brought an estimated 200,000 tonnes of silt to the surface, more
than half of which has been cleared away. However, gusty north-
westerly winds have been drying the silt and kicking up clouds of
dust. CDC Pharmaceuticals has relocated to a new premises and
has announced resumption of medicine supplies to urban
Christchurch pharmacies and the wider South Island from Monday,
28 February, according to a media release. Pharmacists around the
country can dispense medications without a prescription to people
who were in Christchurch at the time of the earthquake, although
they need to take care to get details correct, advises the
Pharmaceutical Societyalong with other information for
pharmacists Patients in Canterbury can visit local GPs for free and
also do not need to pay the $3 script fee for the scripts they fill out
at the pharmacies. In a notification posted on
www.healthpathways.org.nz, the DHB said it has agreed that all
General Practice visits are at no cost to patients until the end of
Sunday 27 February. This includes all CDHB practices. But patients
and GPs have been asked to keep a record. "The CDHB has (also)
agreed that the $3 charge on scripts (per item) are at no cost to
patients until the end of Sunday 27 February. This includes all
CDHB pharmacies. Keep a record." More than 22 pharmacies
have closed in Christchurch, with others opening limited hours only,
according to a register being constantly updated on Canterbury's
Health Pathways websitethat is usually used to streamline care
between primary care services and hospitals. Pharmacy Today's
sister publication New Zealand Doctor has a rolling update of
health-related issuesin Christchurch Christchurch Hospital is open
for serious casualties only, Canterbury DHB chief executive David
Meates says, in a media releaseexplaining where triage centres
are. Leave damaged buildings and don't overload phone lines with
unnecessary calls, is advice from Civil Defence today for
Christchurch Timaru Hospital is on standby to assist with those
injured in the 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch today. South
Canterbury DHB has set up an Incident Operations Centre has
been set up at Timaru Hospital for a team to manage its emergency
response. The incident controller is Christin Nolan GM secondary
services, chief executive Chris Fleming says in a media release.
 Christchurch Hospital has been evacuated, according to
Stuff.co.nz.
While the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand welcomes
the Pharmac consultation on changes to the pharmaceutical
schedule being sent to all community pharmacists for their
feedback, the proposal has not been endorsed by the organisation,
according to a Pharmacy Guild media release. The guild is seeking
feedback from members via its website on chronic care services
currently offered but not funded Pharmac consultation - Feb
2011on changing rules for close control and funding more clinical
services

DHBNZ to get the chop on 30 June, not known yet who will take
over pharmacy relations and dispensing contract negotiations -
New Zealand Doctor Pharmacybrands Group is to buy the shares
in Radius Pharmacy for $17.1 million - Stuff 14 Feb UK GPs have
been given the go-ahead to prescribe almost all classes of
antibiotics to women who take the contraceptive pill, in a major
change to current practice prompted by new evidence on the
interactions between the drugs - Pulse 10 Feb (free
registration) A pregnant American woman mistakenly given an
abortion drug by a pharmacist faces an excruciating wait to find out
the fate of her unborn child - Stuff 10 Feb The Pharmacy Guild has
highlighted the serious prescribing errors identified in a pilot of
electronic prescribing at Dunedin Hospital - 9 Feb
More students are pushing universities to make medicines more
available to people in the world’s poorest countries - The Medical
News HPV jab prevents genital wards in men - Pulse 5 Feb A doctor
working in "quaint" Ohope compares Kiwi healthcare favourably to the
far more pricy care provided in the US - The Hospitalist