Steve Anthony: True Canadian Pharmacy

p The mental health court, to sit once a week in Dartmouth starting Nov. Nova Scotia’s special court designed for people with mental illness who come into conflict with the law will open this fall. Judith McPhee, the chair of the government committee that helped create the court, said people who appear before a judge in the Halifax region may request that their case be moved to this new court. 2, will divert some people away from the criminal justice !–more– system and into treatment programs. Landry said this won’t be an easier ride for anyone. Hopefully we’ll start to collect those cases.
Provincial court Judge Bill MacDonald will hear the cases recommended by a mental-health court team, including mental-health clinicians and lawyers. This is about accountability, both to the individual and to the system, and I think that that’s critical to know, he said. Attorney General and Justice Minister Ross Landry said the court will examine the accused and their illnesses, not just their alleged crimes. Hyde died in jail about 30 hours after he was arrested for an alleged assault and stunned with a Taser during a struggle with Halifax police at the station. There are people out there who have fallen through the gaps in the process or the cracks in the floor, Landry said. The defence, Crown or police may also suggest cases, McPhee said. The provincial justice system’s handling of the mentally ill has been scrutinized during an inquiry into the 2007 death of Howard Hyde, a schizophrenic.

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Planet Pharmacy, a Dubai-based pharmacy retailer, is set to launch 250 pharmacies across the UAE and over 500 in Saudi Arabia by 2012, making it the largest pharmacy chain in the Middle East.
The company, which is a joint venture between Julphar and the private equity division of Global Investment House, will open pharmacies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi by December this year.
The pharmacies, to be named Health First, will be launched with the objective !–more– of growing to be the market leader in the pharmaceutical retail business across the region.
John Makepeace, chief executive of Planet Pharmacy, said: #8220;Planet Pharmacy and its Health First stores have a vision of becoming the biggest and most trusted pharmacy brand in the Middle East within the next three years.#8221;

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Canada.com:
The first women’s only pharmacy in North America will open its doors Tuesday in Vancouver.
The pharmacy, located in the city’s troubled Downtown Eastside, is called Lu’s: A Pharmacy for Women, and is aimed at providing female-oriented services to clients.
Caryn Duncan, executive director of the Vancouver Women’s Health Collective, came up with the idea of opening a pharmacy for women in 2006.
She lives in the area and often saw !–more– queues of patrons spilling out of pharmacies onto sidewalks and having to speak to pharmacists through security glass.
They’re, I think, quite hostile places and women don’t feel safe, Duncan said. Women are walking distances to have prescriptions filled and we’re hoping that they will think to come to Lu’s.

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Health Minister Michael Murphy announced on Monday a new methadone program in Saint John that will allow opiate addicts to refer themselves for treatment. “As a result, we have removed the requirement that addictions services clients here and elsewhere in the province must take part in mandatory counselling in order to be eligible for methadone treatment,” Murphy said in a statement. The chief of the Saint John police, Bill Reid, has been pushing (more…)

It’d probably cost $150,000 to $200,000, so that’s impossible,” Ham told CBC News on Monday. Second Chance signed a lease in the northeast Greenview Industrial Park, which is not zoned for a medical clinic. Ham said that centre has said it could take up to six months to set up a system to accommodate Second Recovery’s clients. “The clinic simply can’t afford to keep up the fight. ‘The clinic simply can’t afford to keep up the fight. But media (more…)

Health Minister Michael Murphy will continue his reforms to the health system in 2009 with additional cuts to departmental administration and unveiling legislation that will set the stage for private health clinics.
Murphy said the legislation will settle who is allowed to own private clinics as well as address any potential conflicts of interest. But the health minister maintains the use of private clinics will not violate the Canada Health Act.
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