It has been well known for some time that along with massive disruption to the way you have had to operate as a pharmacist, Covid-19…
‘We did nothing wrong’
Terry Maguire tries to establish where the blame lies for America’s devastating opioid epidemic With focus on Covid-19, the US opioid pandemic has largely been…
Hell is other people
Fintan Moore notes the impact of negative encounters in the pharmacy, but he tries to be philosophical about it… The phrase ‘Hell is other people’…
Confidence tricksters?
The person who presents at the interview as super-confident and competent may not in fact be the right one for the job, writes Ultan Molloy…
Household Drug Survey Throws Up Some Intriguing Findings
Dr Des Corrigan selects some of the headline findings from the latest national household survey on drug and alcohol use he fifth national household survey…
‘Not Happy!’
Terry Maguire recalls a text message-based explosion of frustration from an exhausted pharmacy sector. But was it merited? On the evening of the first Friday…
Another Bad News Story about Drugs from Afghanistan
Dr Des Corrigan analyses the changes occurring in Afghanistan that may flood Europe with cheap crystal meth It is somewhat ironic that the heroin that…
Days of Our Lives
Fintan Moore weighs-up the pros and cons of being a pharmacist compared to a life in other professions It’s a natural thing among all people…
Speed or haste for the 18-to-34 jab?
No doubt it has been a frantic July for you as 18-to-34 year-olds have been given the opportunity to avail of Covid-19 vaccines in their…
Player power: No Coke and a smile
As Fintan Moore touched on in his column of this issue, soccer star Ronaldo made a spontaneous and unexpected gesture at a press conference during…
Vaccination Nation
Fintan Moore ponders the ‘Expression of interest’ form and the myriad of potential responses to its questions After being a bit slow to get going,…
Five ‘Herbs’ for Weak Urinary Flow
Dr Des Corrigan compares ‘natural’ vs ‘herbal’ when it comes to commonly-advertised products Another month, another pop-up ad, this time for a product claiming to…
50 Years of Drug Prohibition in the UK
Terry Maguire reviews the contents of the UK’s Misuse of Drugs act on the 50th anniversary of its introduction As a service, we had failed…
Keeping good company
Looking after your business and the performance of your staff can bring breakthroughs in skill development and self-awareness, writes Ultan Molloy Having seen the way…
A generation lost
Covid has, as we all know, been ‘the only game in town’ over the past bizarre and challenging year. But as we also know, the…
Plan for the worst?
What could a canoe trip down the zambezi river and the high tech hub possibly have in common? Fintan Moore explains Years ago when I…
The FDA tackles misbranding of CBD products
Dr Des Corrigan finds that when it comes to the labelling of some CBD products, the devil is in the detail According to a recent…
The understanding of risk
Terry Maguire shares his experiences of administering the Covid vaccine in his pharmacies Wednesday and Saturday for the past eight weeks have been vaccination days…
‘Good money makes good art’
There’s no such thing as ‘free’ advice at the pharmacy counter but it certainly has value, writes Ultan Molloy July, eh! And what does your…
The health literacy factor in pharmacies
Some readers have had to reorganise their pharmacies dramatically since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, with the reduced footfall hitting many pharmacies hard. Many of you…
A Pointed argument
While pharmacists should be vaccinating for Covid-19, the strain on resources shouldn’t be underestimated, writes Fintan Moore Like many of you, I recently downloaded the…
Herbs for sleep – what is the evidence?
Dr Des Corrigan reviews the evidence for herbal therapies to treat stress and insomnia The Irish Times Health Section published a provocative and at times…
‘Action Needed Immediately’
A code-word scheme to help victims of domestic violence in the pharmacy has its positives and negatives, writes Terry Maguire Domestic violence, in all its…
Joining forces
Ultan Molloy considers the ongoing moves towards consolidation in the Irish pharmacy market The big news this morning, at the time of writing, is that…
The rocky road to OTC ED medication
It’s a welcome development that medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) is now approved for OTC sale in Ireland. It is another recognition…
State of the Union
Because of human nature, being at the head of the IPU is something akin to coaching the Irish rugby team, writes Fintan Moore It often…
Is the Lethal Fat-Burner DNP Another Case of Paracelsus Being Right?
Dr Des Corrigan weighs the evidence against DNP with the musings of the historical ‘father of toxicology’ Media reports at the beginning of February referred…
Ireland shot itself in the foot, not in the arm
When politics interferes with the vaccine surveillance process, we move to emotion informing beliefs and decisions, writes Terry Maguire In the 1960s, US President Johnson…
Reasons to be cheerful — or fearful
Ultan Molloy tries his best to be positive about the end of lockdowns and the pharmacy sector I feel like my brain has been in…