Innovative new event brought to you in partnership with the National Pharmacy Association (NPA)

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

Hosted by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Cogora, publishers of Pulse, Pulse PCN, and The Pharmacist, this two-day event brings together 1,000+ professionals from across community pharmacy, general practice and wider primary care.

With unrivalled access to 100,000 healthcare professionals working in general practice and primary care and 6,000 community pharmacies, these two trusted organisations are ideally placed to deliver an event designed to break silos, boost collaboration and drive real change.

Unlike traditional trade shows, it prioritises integration and meaningful relationships between pharmacy and general practice in pursuit of delivering the NHS 10-year health plan and neighbourhood healthcare. The agenda will be highly practical, showcasing case studies that demonstrate how policy can be translated into NHS practice – and how others can replicate that success.

‘The National Pharmacy Association is delighted to be partnering with Cogora – with their vast experience of delivering healthcare events – on this important initiative, which we hope will be a springboard to great, patient-centred collaboration amongst primary care practitioners everywhere. This event’s clear focus on maximising the benefits of community pharmacy within integrated primary care makes it a stand-out project, different from anything else already established in the healthcare events calendar.’ Henry Gregg, Chief Executive, National Pharmacy Association

‘General practice and community pharmacy have always been the main doors into primary care, yet too often worked in parallel. That’s changing as pharmacists take on more clinical roles and GPs recognise their value in practice. Strong communication is key making this event a timely driver of collaboration that benefits both staff and patients.’ Dr Keith Hopcroft, GP and Editorial Advisor, Pulse

‘Positive General Practice-Community Pharmacy relationships are an important underpinning to seamless patient care and also key to the future of both professions within the NHS. I’m excited by the prospect of a conference that will give me and fellow health care professionals practical tools to break down silos and work more effectively across primary care. This event is especially timely, given the drive in the 10 Year Health Plan to shift more care from hospital into community.’ Sanjeev Panesar, Pharmacist and NPA Board Member

With sponsorship opportunities ranging from exhibition stands, sponsored symposia and branding, to a small number of full-event partnership packages, contact us today and we’ll help you find the perfect opportunity.

The Pharmacist’s roundtable on independent prescribers

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

The Pharmacist’s latest roundtable covers the current and future issues surrounding the roll out independent prescriber status for new MPharm graduates.

This roundtable brings together six leading pharmacists from five universities across the UK along with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to discuss how courses and students have had to rapidly adapt to the new requirements.

As more is expected from pharmacists to help meet the demands placed on the NHS, we discussed how this new cohort would enter the workforce and what support they might need. 

Getting access to placements was highlighted as a challenge, particularly in general practice, as was seeing examples of independent prescribing in community pharmacy.

However, all the delegates agreed that the policy direction was exciting for the profession as a whole.

‘Certainly, our students are excited about being prescribers, but they’re not quite sure where it’s going post foundation training, and in terms of where they’re going to go with their scope of practice,’ said Nilesh Patel, Director of clinical pharmacy, King’s College London.

‘As a pharmacist, I’m quite excited that we got there despite all the challenges. Pharmacists being accessible and providing prescribing power [means] we can enhance medicine optimisation and the treatment of people. It’s quite an interesting dynamic and a recognition of our training,’ said Reem Kayyali Head, Department of Pharmacy, Kingston University.

Editor of The Pharmacist, Victoria Vaughan said: ‘The move to have all pharmacy graduates as independent prescribers will have a significant change on how the profession can operate and how it is viewed.

‘However, experienced pharmacists are quick to point out that a prescribing power early in a career is quite daunting. These new graduates will need to be well supported to succeed. This discussion shines a light on what the new generation of pharmacists hope for and what the sector needs to do to support them.’

The Pharmacist roundtables examine the core issues facing the profession across community and practice.  

The roundtables are part of our comprehensive offering for our pharmacists, with recent roundtables covering the initial six months of Pharmacy First, as well as the relationship between community pharmacy and integrated care systems.

For the opportunity to reach our audience of frontline professionals across pharmacy through a variety of digital advertising options, please contact us today.

Cogora Events: Upcoming events and plans for 2026

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

As the festive season approaches, so does one of the most significant dates in Cogora’s events calendar: the General Practice Awards, now celebrating its 17th year.

On Thursday 5 December, healthcare leaders will gather at the Novotel London West for the prestigious General Practice Awards. Sponsorship opportunities remain available across a number of key award categories, including:

  • Workforce Wellbeing Award
  • Digital Innovation Award
  • Advancing Health Equity
  • PCN of the Year
  • Clinical Improvement Awards in Long-Term Conditions, Mental Health, and Public Health & Prevention

Align your brand with excellence in primary care and demonstrate your commitment to the sector. For more information, visit General Practice Awards or contact [email protected].

Still to come in 2025
There are 17 Cogora Events remaining this year, hosted both online and in-person across the UK. Highlights include our first-ever Pulse LIVE Belfast, taking place at the Crowne Plaza Belfast on 6 November. Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are still available.

Looking ahead: 2026 calendar
We are excited to announce that our flagship London events – Pulse LIVE, Pulse PCN, and Nursing in Practice London – will move to a new venue, the Business Design Centre in Islington, running 28–30 April 2026.

Other confirmed 2026 dates include:

  • Pulse LIVE Leeds – 18 March
  • Management in Practice Manchester – 2 June
  • Management in Practice & Pulse Birmingham – 9–10 June

In addition, Cogora is proud to launch a brand-new event in partnership with the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Community Pharmacy + General Practice will take place at the National Conference Centre, Birmingham, on 21–22 June 2026, bringing together more than 1,000 professionals from across community pharmacy, general practice, and wider primary care. The event aims to strengthen collaboration across the sector and support delivery of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.

Stay tuned for the release of our full 2026 events calendar. To explore sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please contact [email protected].

General Practice Awards 2025 Shortlist is announced

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

The shortlist for the General Practice Awards 2025 has been revealed, once again shining a spotlight on the innovation, dedication and passion of primary and community care teams across the UK.

Last year’s ceremony welcomed more than 570 guests from across healthcare for a night of celebration, recognising those delivering outstanding patient care. This year, hundreds of entries were submitted, with judges facing the difficult task of scoring an exceptionally strong field. GP Team of the Year, GP of the Year and Digital Innovation remained among the most popular categories.

This year also saw the launch of three new categories: The Future Leader Award, the Advancing Health Equity Award, and the Workforce Wellbeing Award, all of which received fantastic inaugural entries. Take a look to find out about our wonderful General Practice Awards finalists.

We have also received great nominations in the Supplier Award categories, covering telecoms providers, legal service providers, recruiters, pharmacy services, AI-powered solutions providers and digital solutions providers. We saw a number of new companies taking part this year which is a great sign of the reach of the GP Awards. We also have the supplier shortlist open for public voting. Make sure you have your voice heard by voting now.

More details about our shortlisted nominees will be revealed across our media brands – Pulse, Pulse PCN, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice, Healthcare Leader – in the coming weeks, so do stay tuned. Follow along on the night via our Instagram and LinkedIn accounts to get live updates as the winners are announced.

The General Practice Awards 2025 ceremony will take place on Friday 5th December at the Novotel London West. Tickets are now on sale.

Good luck to all those shortlisted!

Cogora launches new Native Ad placement

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

Cogora are excited to announce the launch of a new Native Ads placement, giving our clients even greater opportunities to engage healthcare professionals in a seamless, impactful way.

These text-based ad creatives run across both desktop and mobile, appearing as a leaderboard ad across article pages – prominently positioned above the article title.

To ensure the most integrated experience for readers, Cogora will create the ad using copy provided by the client. No client branding will be included, allowing the ads to appear as naturally as possible within the editorial environment.

With their highly visible placement and integrated format, Native Ads are designed to drive stronger brand awareness and deliver your key messages directly within the content journey of our audience.

This new offering is available across all our media brands, Pulse, Pulse PCN, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice, Healthcare Leader, Hospital Pharmacy Europe, and Hospital Healthcare Europe. 

For more information on Native Ads and how they can support your campaign objectives, please contact us today.

Medical Educational Quick Guides

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

In response to growing demand from the primary care community for clear, practical, and time-efficient resources, Cogora has launched a series of Medical Educational Quick Guides – expertly developed tools designed to deliver essential clinical insights in a concise, accessible format.

Each Quick Guide offers a targeted, easy-to-digest summary of key information on a specific medical topic, ensuring healthcare professionals have the knowledge they need at their fingertips. Created by our editorial team, these resources maintain the highest standards of accuracy and clinical relevance.

Designed to meet the real-world needs of GPs, nurses, and pharmacists, the Quick Guides combine authoritative educational content on your chosen clinical area with a dedicated full-page advertisement for the sponsoring partner, creating seamless alignment with high-value educational material.

Once approved, the Quick Guide will be hosted on our relevant media brand and promoted across our channels, online and via targeted email campaigns, delivering maximum reach to an engaged and loyal primary care audience.

Hard copy reprints are also available for field teams to use at customer meetings and external events.

For sponsorship opportunities or further information, please contact us today.

Branded Content

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

Across our media brands, clients can collaborate with our trusted editorial team to craft high-quality, compelling articles that align with their brand’s message.

Branded content pieces are designed to inform and engage your target healthcare audience, while reflecting the client’s core messaging and areas of expertise.

The partnership allows clients the flexibility to select topics that support their strategic objectives, while leveraging one of our media brand’s editorial tone, credibility, and audience reach.

Our editorial team worked closely with the client to shape each article’s narrative, ensuring the content is authentic, informative, and engaging – not promotional. Once published as an editorial feature, each article is promoted across our channels – online and via newsletters – offering access to a highly engaged and loyal readership.

Branded content is ideal for thought leadership, product storytelling, or positioning your brand around key themes in a way that feels organic and value-driven to readers.

Covering primary and secondary care markets, our portfolio of market-leading brands reach unrivalled numbers of HCPs. We listen to what they tell us and take notice of what they respond to, allowing us to communicate effectively with your target audience.

Explore our recent case study showcasing how the Medical Defense Society partnered with Pulse to deliver a Branded Content piece that highlights their expertise and deep understanding of the challenges faced by GPs today.

This new offering is available via Pulse, Pulse PCN, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice, Healthcare Leader, Hospital Pharmacy Europe, and Hospital Healthcare Europe. For more information about branded content pieces, please contact us today.

Our inaugural GP Pharmacy Virtual: Core Updates Event

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

Last month in partnership with The Pharmacist, we held the inaugural GP Pharmacy Virtual: Core Updates virtual event. This free to attend study day delivered essential clinical insights tailored for practice and PCN pharmacists across the UK.

The full day event tackled high demand topics critical to primary care pharmacy services in 2025:

  • Addressing polypharmacy and overprescribing in patients with multimorbidity
  • Practical guidance for independent prescribers operating in general practice
  • Strategies for career development as a clinical pharmacist
  • Key insights on obesity and weight‑loss management for GP pharmacists
  • A forward-looking panel on the future of GP pharmacy
  • Updates on medicines optimisation, chronic-disease prevention, and career progression

Chaired by Dr Graham Stretch, President of the Primary Care Pharmacy Association, the GP Pharmacy virtual event showcased expert discussion led by a notable speaker panel, including:

  • Lelly Oboh, Consultant Pharmacist, Care of older people Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust Clinical and acre professional lead for overprescribing, South East London ICB
  • Soobia Israr, Pharmacy Workforce Transformation Programme lead, NHS Frimley
  • Hanan Hadad, Clinical lecturer, Advanced Practice Pharmacist and lead DPP at the Teach and Treat Project
  • Philip Newland‑Jones, Consultant Pharmacist Diabetes & Endocrinology Clinical Director Diabetes & Endocrinology UHSFT Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer UoS
  • Yousaf Ahmad, ICS Chief Pharmacist & Director of Medicines Optimisation, NHS Frimley
  • Zafran Azam, Head of Pharmacy- Implementation & Place (Derby City & Swad), NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board / Joined Up Care Derbyshire
  • Yinka Kuye, Head of Pharmacy Primary care transformation Medicines Optimisation, Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System
  • Vishal Mashru, Head of Medicines and Research Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB Clinical Lead – Medicines Optimisation
  • Sally Arnison, MBE Lead Clinical Pharmacist, Berkshire Primary Care
  • Dawn Best, Senior Medicines Optimisation Lead Pharmacist (Mental Health), Frimley Health and Care ICS

All speakers offered practical, evidence-based solutions designed for pharmacists operating in the current primary healthcare landscape.

Delegates were very proactive in grabbing the opportunity to engage in real-time, gathering further insights when participating in live Q&A segments, enhancing their ability to apply current best practices within primary care.

To learn more about reaching our pharmacy audience or to explore our full portfolio of upcoming events, please contact us today.

The Pharmacist continues to expand its offering to pharmacists working within general practice and PCNs, in addition to the community. Across our website and newsletters, The Pharmacist In Practice features the latest news about the sector, invaluable analysis around pay, job satisfaction and clinical issues, and interviews with trail-blazing pharmacists working in general practice and PCN roles.

GP Pharmacy Virtual: Core Updates

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

GP Pharmacy Virtual: Core Updates is our new virtual event, empowering pharmacists working in general practice and primary care networks (PCNs) to grow their career and boost their clinical skills and knowledge in the complex, ever-changing world of primary care.

GP Pharmacy Virtual: Core Updates is a free, one-day online conference, delivered in partnership with The Pharmacist, is taking place on June 24, 2025.

Developed in collaboration with frontline clinical pharmacists, the agenda addresses key priorities, including the management of polypharmacy and overprescribing in multimorbid patients, ensuring safe and effective prescribing as independent practitioners, and navigating the challenges of building a successful career in this dynamic field.  

The event also offers practical insights on obesity and weight loss management, the future direction of GP pharmacy, and key updates in medicines optimisation, prevention, and chronic disease management. These updates aim to support pharmacists’ professional development, enhance patient outcomes, and drive forward best practice across primary care settings.

Participants will have the chance to engage directly with speakers during live Q&A sessions, allowing for personalised insights and discussions.

Recognising the busy schedules of our audience, the event will be available live and on-demand, enabling attendees to access content at their convenience.

For those interested in speaking at future GP Pharmacy Virtual events, or for those organisations who are interested in sponsoring, please contact us today.

The Pharmacist continues to expand its offering to pharmacists working within general practice and PCNs, in addition to the community. Across our website and newsletters, The Pharmacist In Practice features the latest news about the sector, invaluable analysis around pay, job satisfaction and clinical issues, and interviews with trail-blazing pharmacists working in general practice and PCN roles.

The Pharmacist wins at the Avicenna pharmacy media awards

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

We are pleased to announce that The Pharmacist took the award for Pharmacy Writer of the Year at the Avicenna media awards for the pharmacy press on Friday.

Joanna Robertson, senior reporter for The Pharmacist, took the award for the quality of her writing and depth of analysis for the independent pharmacy sector.

Founded over twenty-five years ago by a handful of pharmacists, Avicenna is an independent pharmacy support group now with over 1,200 members.

The Avicenna media awards event was held at the Barber-Surgeons’ Hall in the City of London, attended by representatives from across the pharmacy press and pharmaceutical industry.

This follows a recent win for The Pharmacist at the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) awards in November, for Best in Pharmacy Trade Press.

The Pharmacist delivers the latest daily political, business, and clinical news in the pharmacy sector; with blogs and clinical and professional features on key topics affecting pharmacists.

Please contact us for our advertising packages, and ways you can reach our community of pharmacists.

The Pharmacist brings together pharmacy and GP leads in Pharmacy First roundtable

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

The Pharmacist has launched its inaugural roundtable report focusing on the initial six months of Pharmacy First – based on an exclusive discussion with pharmacy and general practice stakeholders.

The Pharmacy First roundtable deliberately sought to create conversation across the two sectors, recognising that engagement from both is needed to make a success of Pharmacy First.

The discussion, held in August this year, reflected on the first six months of the service in England, including successes, challenges and possible future direction.

Pharmacy First launched in England on 31 January 2024, and sees pharmacists funded to provide advice and treatment where necessary for seven major conditions: acute otitis media in children, impetigo, infected insect bites, sinusitis in over 12s, sore throat in over fives, shingles in adults and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women aged between 16 and 64.

The service also encompasses referrals from GPs and 111 for other minor ailments, previously known as the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS), as well as referrals for urgent repeat medicines supply.

Local relationships between general practice and community pharmacies have been identified as ‘key’ to the success of the service, as was evidenced by our discussion around referrals to pharmacies and patients being sent back to their GP.

The Pharmacy First roundtable also highlighted clear issues around funding and workload pressures within both sectors that underpin many of the challenges facing the service.

Our attendees agreed that Pharmacy First is not a solution to GP access pressures nor to the community pharmacy funding crisis.

Throughout the discussion, some clear points emerged on clinical issues and patient experience. Attendees shared examples of initiatives that had worked in their local areas to improve the service.

And suggestions were made as to how the service – including what clinical pathways were included – could be refined and expanded in the future.

Most strongly, there were clear calls to make Pharmacy First accessible to walk-in patients for all minor ailments.

With thanks to our roundtable attendees:

  • Shilpa Shah, chief executive of Community Pharmacy North East London;
  • Jonathan Cooper, owner of independent pharmacy group Cooper’s Chemist in the North East of England;
  • Harry McQuillan, chair at Numark and former chief executive of Community Pharmacy Scotland;
  • Sukhy Somal, Head of Community Pharmacy Clinical Services at The Black Country Integrated Care System;
  • Dr Sarah Jacques, part of the Doctors’ Association UK GP committee;
  • and Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah, a GP partner in East London and director of Greenlight@GP, a pharmacist-GP employee-owned organisation.

For the opportunity to reach our audience of community, PCN, and in practice pharmacists through a variety of digital advertising options, please contact us today.

The Pharmacist In Practice

Posted on by Bianca Pettifor

Over the past 18 months, The Pharmacist has been expanding its offering to pharmacists working within general practice and primary care networks (PCNs), in addition to the community.

Across our website and newsletters, The Pharmacist In Practice features the latest news about the sector, invaluable analysis around pay, job satisfaction and clinical issues, and interviews with trail-blazing pharmacists working in general practice and PCN roles.

Our offering to this audience reflects the growing role of pharmacists within general practice teams across the UK. NHS funding has rapidly expanded the number of pharmacist roles, with over 5,000 pharmacists in PCNs and general practice in England now working closely with GPs, contributing their specialist knowledge of medicines, side effects, cost-effective prescribing, and support for patients with medication and long-term conditions.

With a cross-profession leadership board recently established, pharmacists training to become prescribers and clinical work becoming increasingly important across all settings, our output seeks to highlight the collaborative efforts within primary care pharmacy: across PCNs, general practice, and community pharmacy.

For advertising opportunities to our engaged audience, please contact us today.

The Pharmacist delivers the latest daily political, business, and clinical news in the pharmacy sector; with blogs and clinical and professional features on key topics affecting community, PCN, and in practice pharmacists. Our clinical updates span a wide variety of therapy areas relevant to primary care, such as: cancer, dermatology, diabetes, gastroenterology, immunology & vaccination, mental health, respiratory, sexual health, smoking cessation and travel health.