+The magazine

It’s a truth sometimes acknowledged that in government policy, everything is a reaction to what went before. And so, it is with the health reforms.

Calls for rapid antigen testing to be carried out in pharmacy have fallen on deaf ears, with the Ministry of Health saying the move is unlikely to improve reporting of positive tests.

Prescription drugs as well as common over-the-counter products have been hit by COVID-related supply issues on the other side of the world, Jonathan Chilton-Towle reports

Pharmacy audit compliance has continued to fall, with just over 40 per cent of pharmacies achieving full audit compliance in the last reporting quarter. This is down from 44 per cent full compliance in the previous quarter and 49 per cent full compliance a year ago.

Pharmacist vaccinators were in high demand last month as “unprecedented” numbers of Kiwis lined up to get immunised against influenza. Jonathan Chilton-Towle reports