Joanna Robertson

London

Award-winning health journalist ✍️Senior Reporter @Pharmacist_News 📧[email protected] 📲@joanna_journals elsewhere 🎓@cityjournalism 🤔RTs≠endorsement

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Articles

NHS App to be used to recruit patients for clinical trials

1 week ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Millions of patients can now sign up to take part in clinical trials via the NHS App, the government has said.
Integrated digital patient care records to be created following law change

2 weeks ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Integrated digital patient care records will be created in Scotland after MSPs approved legislative amendments in the Scottish Parliament.
Body cameras used by staff in one in five Boots stores

3 weeks ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Boots has told The Pharmaceutical Journal that body cameras are now used by staff in more than 390 of its stores — an increase from 60 stores in 2021. This expansion means that around one in five of the multiple’s more than 1,800 stores now use the technology, which was first introduced in response to what Boots described at the time as an “increasing problem” of abuse from customers.
Ban on new distance-selling pharmacies will result in ‘even playing field’ for contractors, says government

3 weeks ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

No new applications for distance-selling pharmacies (DSPs) will be accepted from 23 June 2025, after regulatory changes were laid in Parliament. The move was agreed as part of the ‘Community pharmacy contractual framework’ (CPCF) for 2025/2026 but was not announced until 2 June 2025, the government confirmed.
Study finds association between GLP-1 use and macular degeneration in diabetes

3 weeks ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Patients with diabetes using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) were twice as likely to develop neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), although the overall risk remains low, according to results from a cohort study. The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology on 5 June 2025, reported a “low but substantially higher risk of being diagnosed with nAMD” among patients exposed to GLP-1 RAs, compared with those who were not.
MHRA urges women taking weight-loss drugs to use effective contraception

3 weeks ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Women taking GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) must use effective contraception, with those taking Mounjaro (tirzepatide; Eli Lilly) requiring a non-oral contraceptive, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). In guidance published on 5 June 2025, the MHRA said that GLP-1 RAs — which include semaglutide, liraglutide and tirzepatide — should not be taken during pregnancy, just before trying to get pregnant or while breastfeeding.
NICE recommends mirikizumab as a treatment option for Crohn's disease

1 month ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor mirikizumab (Omvoh; Eli Lilly) for the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease.
Pharmacy First passes 5 million consultations landmark

1 month ago | pharmaceutical-journal.com | Joanna Robertson

Community pharmacies in England have seen more than 5 million patients under the Pharmacy First scheme since it began in January 2024, NHS Business Services Authority data show. According to data analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal, between the end of January 2024 — when the service was introduced — and the end of February 2025, pharmacies delivered around 5.4 million Pharmacy First consultations.
Weight-loss medication: 'Ambition' to explore through community pharmacy says CPhO

1 month ago | thepharmacist.co.uk | Joanna Robertson

The provision of weight-loss medication in NHS primary care will be delivered through general practice in the first instance, but there is an ‘ambition’ to explore other routes of delivery, England’s chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) has said. His comments follow media reports last week that suggested the government might pilot NHS delivery of weight-loss drugs through community pharmacies.
CPE 'open to discussing' NHS weight-loss jabs through pharmacies

1 month ago | thepharmacist.co.uk | Joanna Robertson

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has said it is 'open to discussing' how weight-loss injections could be delivered through community pharmacies on the NHS, following rumoured plans reported in the national media. Reports in The Times, The Telegraph and the Daily Mail today suggest that the approach may be piloted by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).