For older people and frail people, the long-term benefit of medicines reduces and the potential for harm from adverse effects increases. When the benefit–risk balance changes in this way, medicine review and optimisation are important to simplify the therapeutic regimen, reduce inappropriate medicines and minimise risks. In this article, pharmacist prescriber Linda Bryant uses two case studies to illustrate important considerations during medicine reviews
Covid-19: 6142 new cases, one more death
Covid-19: 6142 new cases, one more death

There have been 6142 new cases of Covid-19 reported and one further death attributed to the virus in the past week.
Canterbury recorded the most new active cases (738), followed by Capital and Coast (552), then Auckland (518), Waitematā (485), Waikato (376) and Counties Manukau (359).
The West Coast recorded the fewest new cases - 17.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases was 666 and 3458 of the new cases were reinfections.
Last week the Ministry of Health reported 6146 new cases, nearly double the previous week's figure.
An expert says New Zealand is experiencing its highest peak in Covid-19 cases since December 2022.
More than four years after the first cases were reported in Aotearoa, the World Health Organisation described Covid-19 as an "ongoing pandemic".
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