Academic Links
Clinical Evidence
http://www.clinicalevidence.com/
Clinical Evidence, from the BMJ Publishing Group, is an international source of the best available evidence for effective health care. They promote informed decision making by summarising what's known -- and not known -- about more than 200 medical conditions and over 2000 treatments.
College of Pharmacy Practice
The College has been in existence since 1980 and was set up by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Its aim is to promote excellence in pharmacy practice along with continuing education and training.
The College is a company limited by guarantee and it is a registered charity. Membership is open to all pharmacists registered in the UK. They can join the College as associates and proceed to full membership by submitting a portfolio.
College of Postgraduate Pharmacy Education
The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) is the organisation which provides continuing education and continuing professional development opportunities for all the community, hospital and primary care pharmacists in England. The Centre was established in 1991 by the NHS Executive and it is funded directly by the Department of Health.
The website is updated every month.
Electronic Medicines Compendium
http://www.emc.medicines.org.uk/
The eMC provides information on thousands of licensed medicines available in the UK via electronic Data Sheets, Summary of Product Characteristics (SPCs) and Patient Information Leaflets (PILs).
The eMC is continuously updated with new and revised SPC and PIL information, which, after approval by the licensing authorities, is submitted directly by pharmaceutical companies.
Patient UK
The site was first launched in 1997 and started as a directory of UK websites which provided information on health, disease and related issues. The aim is to be a reliable and comprehensive source of health and disease information, mainly aimed at the UK general public, but of interest to all.
The information leaflets on this website are included in the EMIS clinical system and doctors and many nurses print off these leaflets during consultations to give to patients and carers. The PatientPlus section is likely to be of particular interest to health professionals.
Pharmacy CPD recording site
This is the Continuing Professional Development website of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. A publication on 'Continuing Professional Development - A guide to getting started' is available. The guide has been created to help pharmacists and registered technicians gain a better understanding of CPD and how to record it - divided into 3 main sections:
- Making CPD work for you - this is designed to help pharmacists and technicians overcome their anxieties about CPD and better understand the benefits.
- A journey round the CPD cycle - breaks down each of the four stages of CPD, helping to make the whole process more manageable.
- Making sense of your CPD record - this section explains each question and provides helpful hints on filling in each section. It also takes a look at how pharmacists and technicians can review their own CPD entries and compare them to an ‘ideal’ CPD record.
The guide also includes a leaflet containing five completed examples of CPD.
Prodigy drug information
PRODIGY Knowledge is an up-to-date source of clinical knowledge that can help healthcare professionals and patients in managing the common conditions generally seen in primary and first-contact care. PRODIGY Knowledge is practical and reliable, supporting safe and effective clinical practice. The PRODIGY Knowledge website provides access to:
- Full Guidance on about 200 topics covering acute and chronic illnesses, and disease prevention
- Quick reference guides which summarize the recommendations in the PRODIGY full guidance
- Patient information leaflets which can be printed and given to patients and carers
- PRODIGY Drugs which supports formulary development