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| Abbreviation | NPA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1921 |
| Legal status | Non-profit company |
| Purpose | Support community pharmacies |
| Location |
|
Region served | UK |
Membership | Community pharmacy owners |
Chief Executive | Mark Lyonette |
| Andrew Lane, Chairperson | |
| Website | www |
The National Pharmacy Association is a British industry trade association for independent Community Pharmacy established in 1921.
The NPA's origins can be traced to 1921, when the Retail Pharmacists' Union (RPU) was founded as a body to respond to a need of representation for pharmacists in employment matters and regulate industry prices. George A. Mallinson was appointed as the RPU's first Secretary (giving his name to the NPA's current headquarters, Mallinson House, a listed building in St Albans, Hertfordshire).
In 1932 the Retail Pharmacists' Union (RPU) was renamed the National Pharmaceutical Union (NPU) with a membership of 90% of retail chemists. Following the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, the NPU established itself on a number of key government committees. One committee, the National Health Insurance Committee (1947), became the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) which continues to operate as a notable industry organisation to this day.
In 1977 the NPU was renamed The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and in 1978 moved to its current day headquarters. 1983 saw the NPA launch the 'Ask Your Pharmacist' campaign, a tradition that continues to this day promoting the work of pharmacy year-round, culminating in 'Ask Your Pharmacist Week'.
The NPA describes itself as there to "help independent pharmacies to prosper, professionally and commercially, for the benefit ultimately of the patients and communities they serve".
The NPA's core functions are to offer insurance and legal service and business and practice advice and act as the representative voice of the sector to government and regulatory bodies. Additional roles are updating members on recent developments in the sector, new drugs coming to market, and offering training and education. It also mediates with the NHS, on behalf of its members and offers Patient Group Directions.
The NPA is officially designated as the Medication Safety Officer for all independent community pharmacies in England with fewer than 50 branches. In this role the NPA shares good practice in relation to medicines safety and acts as an interface with the Department of Health and Social Care on this matter.
The NPA have been critical of the British Government's push for increased online pharmacy services citing that more online pharmacies would result in "fewer pharmacies for the public to visit". [1] A 2017 survey commissioned by the NPA found that 69% of respondents are against a "shift away from local pharmacies" [2] towards online only pharmacies such as Pharmacy2U or Chemist 4 U.
The NPA is a not for profit organisation, and any surplus is invested in member services.
The Association is governed by a Board made up of owners of independent pharmacies from across the UK. Mark Lyonette, became Chief Executive in June 2018.
A pharmacist is a healthcare professional who specializes in the preparation, dispensing, and management of medications and who provides pharmaceutical advice and guidance. Pharmacists often serve as primary care providers in the community, and may offer other services such as health screenings and immunizations.
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links health sciences with pharmaceutical sciences and natural sciences. The professional practice is becoming more clinically oriented as most of the drugs are now manufactured by pharmaceutical industries. Based on the setting, pharmacy practice is either classified as community or institutional pharmacy. Providing direct patient care in the community of institutional pharmacies is considered clinical pharmacy.
A pharmacy technician performs pharmacy-related functions. Training, certification, licensing, and actual practice of pharmacy technicians varies not only worldwide but in some countries regionally as well as by employer.
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, supported by seven special non-geographic health boards, and Public Health Scotland.
In the United States, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) is a third-party administrator of prescription drug programs for commercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, Medicare Part D plans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and state government employee plans. According to the American Pharmacists Association, "PBMs are primarily responsible for developing and maintaining the formulary, contracting with pharmacies, negotiating discounts and rebates with drug manufacturers, and processing and paying prescription drug claims." PBMs operate inside of integrated healthcare systems, as part of retail pharmacies, and as part of insurance companies.
A veterinary pharmacist is a specially trained pharmacist who dispenses veterinary drugs and supplies or products and advice to owners of companion animals and livestock. In addition, they advise the regulatory bodies and are involved in the formulation of veterinary drugs. Veterinary pharmacy is a field of pharmacy practice, in which veterinary pharmacists may compound medications, fill prescriptions, and manage drug therapies for animals. Veterinary pharmacists are licensed pharmacists who specialize in the distribution of medications for animals.
In Denmark, pharmaconomists are experts in pharmaceuticals who have trained with a 3-year tertiary degree. Pharmaconomy describes either their professional practice or their training courses.
Pharmacy in China involves the activities engaged in the preparation, standardization and dispensing of drugs, and its scope includes the cultivation of plants that are used as drugs, the synthesis of chemical compounds of medicinal value, and the analysis of medicinal agents. Pharmacists in China are responsible for the preparation of the dosage forms of drugs, such as tablets, capsules, and sterile solutions for injection. They compound physicians', dentists', and veterinarians' prescriptions for drugs. Pharmacological activities are also closely related to pharmacy in China.
A pharmacy is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of medical prescriptions and is available to counsel patients about prescription and over-the-counter drugs or about health problems and wellness issues. A typical pharmacy would be in the commercial area of a community.
Healthcare in Wales is mainly provided by the Welsh public health service, NHS Wales. NHS Wales provides healthcare to all permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is devolved, and considerable differences are now developing between the public healthcare systems in the different countries of the United Kingdom, collectively the National Health Service (NHS). Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing to pay.
Well, formerly known as The Co-operative Pharmacy, is the largest independent pharmacy business and the third largest overall pharmacy chain after Boots UK and Lloyds Pharmacy in the United Kingdom. It is the largest pharmacy chain in Wales.
A Summary Care Record (SCR) is an electronic patient record, a summary of National Health Service patient data held on a central database covering England, part of the NHS National Programme for IT. The purpose of the database is to make patient data readily available anywhere that the patient seeks treatment, for example if they are staying away from their home town or if they are unable to give information for themselves. Despite opposition from some quarters, by September 2010, 424 GP practices across at least 36 primary care trusts had uploaded 2.7 million Summary Care Records. On 10 October 2010, the Health Secretary announced that the coalition government would continue with the introduction, but that the records would 'hold only the essential medical information needed in an emergency – that is medication, allergen and [drug] reactions'. By March 2013, more than 24 million SCRs had been created across England.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the body responsible for the independent regulation of the pharmacy profession within England, Scotland and Wales, responsible for the regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises. It was created, along with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, in September 2010 when the previous body responsible for regulation, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, was split so that representative and regulatory functions of the pharmacy profession could be separated.
Boots UK Limited, trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and operates also internationally including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Malta, Thailand and Indonesia.
Pharmacy2U is an online pharmacy located in the UK. Pharmacy2U has been involved in piloting the electronic transfer of prescriptions in the UK. They manage NHS repeat prescriptions on behalf of patients. Pharmacy2U was founded by pharmacist Daniel Lee in November 1999. It launched to the public in June 2000.
Telepharmacy is the delivery of pharmaceutical care via telecommunications to patients in locations where they may not have direct contact with a pharmacist. It is an instance of the wider phenomenon of telemedicine, as implemented in the field of pharmacy. Telepharmacy services include drug therapy monitoring, patient counseling, prior authorization and refill authorization for prescription drugs, and monitoring of formulary compliance with the aid of teleconferencing or videoconferencing. Remote dispensing of medications by automated packaging and labeling systems can also be thought of as an instance of telepharmacy. Telepharmacy services can be delivered at retail pharmacy sites or through hospitals, nursing homes, or other medical care facilities.
Pharmacy in the United Kingdom has been an integral part of the National Health Service since it was established in 1948. Unlike the rest of the NHS, pharmacies are largely privately provided apart from those in hospitals, and even these are now often privately run.
Nadia Bukhari is a British pharmacist of Pakistani origin living in London, United Kingdom. In 2018, she was awarded the status of Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) making her the youngest female fellow under the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain; an honor bestowed to those who have achieved excellence and distinction in their pharmacy career. In addition, she is the first Muslim female and British Pakistani to be a board member of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy for England, UK. Since 2003, she has been serving in academia at University College London (UCL). She wrote and published many articles on the pharmacy and leadership field at Pharmaceutical Press and BMC Series. In Pakistan, she received the honor to launch the National Alliance for Women in Pharmacy (NAWP) under the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA). She is the global lead at the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) to promote gender equity in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, she has been serving as a trustee and an ambassador for the Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education (PAGE); a charity program supported by the Government of Pakistan. She is also an executive committee member at Indus Health Network UK. In 2021, she launched Equity Pakistan, and is the UK director of the initiative; a gender equity hub for the pharmaceutical workforce in Pakistan; a collaborated initiative taken by Hamdard University Islamabad Campus and University College London (UCL). She was the chief pharmacist at doctHERs; a telemedicine company in Pakistan enabling home-based healthcare females to work in the pharmaceutical industry and connect with low-income patients across Pakistan. Following her departure from doctHERs, Nadia has co-founded ‘Siha Health & Wellness’ and is the Chief Operating Officer. Siha provides one-stop health and wellness solutions for the corporate sector in Pakistan.
A Minor Ailment Scheme is a service provided by pharmacies for the National Health Service, first established in England in 2008.
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