Key Summary NHSE plans to give Palantir and other external staff “admin” roles. It would entail broad access to identifiable patient data on the federated data platform. The move has raised concerns about risks to public trust and data security. NHS England is granting Palantir staff "unlimited access" to identifiable patient data while working on its flagship National Data Integration Tenant (NDIT) platform, the Financial Times has reported. NHS England has agreed to create an "admin" role granting non-staff "unlimited access" to the NDIT and identifiable patient data, the daily said, citing an internal briefing note. The NDIT is housed under the Federated Data Platform (FDP), which links disparate NHS datasets into a single ⁠system. Palantir was awarded a £330m contract to help build the FDP, installing AI systems to integrate scattered health datasets and bring efficiencies to medical treatment. An NHS spokesperson said Britain's health service has "strict policies" governing access to patient data and conducts regular audits to ensure compliance. Any external access requires government security clearance and approval from a director-level official, the spokesperson added. Palantir is legally designated as a "data processor", while its customers are "data controllers", meaning its software can process data only in line with customer instructions, a spokesperson for the firm said. Concerns about the security of patient records have been raised by many MPs. York Central MP Rachael Maskell, a former NHS worker, want the Palantir project to be stopped. She told The Guardian, “As Palantir get their claws deeper into our NHS data we can see how it is opening it up to greater private interest. This is a dangerous development and I ask the government to get a grip on this project before it is too late.” The Patients Association said it was concerned patients were not consulted on a significant change to who has unlimited access to patient data. Palantir also supports US president Donald Trump’s ICE immigration crackdown and the Israeli, US and UK militaries. This news comes amid recent breaches in health‑data security. Research data from UK Biobank were reportedly discovered for sale on Alibaba’s e‑commerce platforms, prompting an investigation.

Key SummaryNICE updated the neonatal infection guidance.Babies can get oral antibodies at home. This can potentially reduce the hospital stay of mother and baby by up to 2.7 days.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has updated the neonatal infection guidance that allows babies receiving antibiotics in hospital to switch to oral antibiotics and be cared for at home if they are doing well and responding to treatment. The approach that has been successfully piloted in three projects across 9 NHS sites across England proving it is as effective as hospital treatment for the infants. This can potentially reduce the hospital stay of mother and baby by up to 2.7 days. Neonatal care units are some of the busiest specialist wards in the country. All newborns are assessed for specific birth related risk factors, including premature birth before 37 weeks and if the mother tests positive for group b strep or is thought to have sepsis during labour. It gives the babies full clinical support at home in order to complete their treatment. Newborns face health risks due to factors like premature birth before 37 weeks, mother developing complications like sepsis during labour. Some of these babies will need to stay in hospital. But as per the new NICE guidance babies born after 35 weeks who are on intravenous antibiotics can be switched to a simple liquid oral antibiotic and taken home to complete the course if they test negative for infection, are stable, feeding well, and responding well to treatment. Shorter stays free up neonatal unit beds for babies who need the most intensive care. “These updated recommendations will improve how some mothers experience the first few days with their new baby,” commented interim director at NICE centre for guidelines, Eric Power. “As part of our updated guideline, we specify parents are trained by the neonatal team in how to give their baby antibiotics orally, recommending this must be done under clinical supervision in hospital before they can go home,” said Lucy Common, NICE’s clinical advisor for nursing.

Key SummaryThe US government has imposed visa restrictions on 14 people for illicit fentanyl sale to Americans.The US authorities have restricted 14 members of KS International Traders.They had identified two Indian nationals and an online pharmacy that supplied illegal fentanyl-laced pills during September last year.The US government has imposed visa restrictions on 14 people, including the owner of an India-based online pharmacy, along with 13 associates, for illicit fentanyl sale to Americans. The US authorities have restricted 14 members of KS International Traders under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that the Indian firm had generated revenue through fentanyl trafficking, which has spiked the country’s opioid crisis. "This action underscores the United States' and India's enduring and shared commitment to dismantling illicit drug entities and disrupting trafficking networks that harm Americans. Those complicit in poisoning Americans will be denied entry to the United States,” Pigott said. The US authorities had identified two Indian nationals and an online pharmacy that supplied illegal fentanyl-laced pills during September last year. According to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed, Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, and KS International Traders (KS Pharmacy) had worked with traffickers in the US and Dominican Republic will face the legal consequences. The counterfeit pills sold by them reportedly contained fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and methamphetamine. Many other Indians have recently been captured for such illegal drug-related activities in the US. Last month, OFAC captured an India-based pharmaceutical chemicals supplier named Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria for selling unauthorised fentanyl precursors used to make illegal fentanyl, followed by the arrest of Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, who supported Sutaria in sales and shipping. As per the OFAC’s investigation, both of them used other India-based companies, SR Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (SR Chemicals) and Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (Agrat Chemicals) for their trade. These actions emphasise India’s and the United States’ strong commitment to fighting illicit drug trafficking practices that harm Americans by banning such traders from entering the US.

Key Summary Alcohol-specific death rate has increased since 2001. Alcoholic liver disease accounts for 74.3 percent of all deaths in 2024. The death rate in deprived areas is much higher than least deprived areas. UK Alcohol-specific death rate in 2024 at 14.8 per 100,000 remains higher than the rate in 2001 (10.6 per 100,000), representing an overall upward trend over the last two decades, according to Office for National Statistics. However, it is lower than from its record high in 2023 (15.9 deaths per 100,000). There are differences in mortality rates across the four nations and regions of England. The highest death rates per 100,000 population have been recorded in Northern Ireland (21.4) and Scotland (20.9), while it was lower in England (13.8) and Wales (16.8). Within England, the North East remains the most affected region, with a rate of 21.1, which is nearly double the rate of some other English regions. People aged 55 to 59 had the highest alcohol-specific death rate in 2024, at 35.8 deaths per 100,000. Men continue to be disproportionately affected. In 2024, the male death rate (20.2) was more than double the female rate (9.7). Alcoholic liver disease is the leading cause of alcohol-specific deaths, accounting for 74.3 percent of all cases in 2024. Mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use followed, accounting for approximately 15.4 percent of deaths. A correlation between socioeconomic deprivation and alcohol-specific mortality was identified through the dataset. In 2024, men in England, who live in the most deprived areas were nearly four times more likely to die from alcohol-related causes than those in the least deprived areas (35.7 vs. 9.0 per 100,000). In the case of women, the pattern is similar with death rates of 15.4 in the most deprived areas compared with 5.1 in the least deprived.

A daily pill could help people maintain weight loss after stopping GLP-1 injections, according to the team of researchers behind new trial data. The researchers found that people using injectable GLP-1s maintained most of their weight loss long term if they switched to the daily weight-loss pill orforglipron. The large-scale randomised controlled trial, ATTAIN-MAINTAIN, was The post Daily pill helps people maintain weight loss after stopping injections, trial shows appeared first on The Pharmacist.