if the answer for pharmacies is service provision, Xrayser ponders what use they are in a surgery dispensary

"If I invested in pharmacy would the shares rocket like Apple or tank like Northern Rock?" Xrayser ponders the sector's value

MURs have reduced waste for the NHS but they do not pay for themselves, and if we are honest, they were never meant to, writes Xrayser

As we sign up as many taxpayers as possible to part with NHS money Xrayser asks himself, is this what I studied for? To work as a cross between a salesman and a charity mugger?

When the hassle amplifier is turned all the way up to 11, Xrayser takes a step back to think of Mr Soaper and why it is important pharmacists still take time with their patients

Gary Paragpuri Are we going to see individual practitioners facing the sort of structural reform that contractors have had to deal with in the past decade?

Xrayser The chancellor should have called upon the blitz spirit of the over-70s and been honest enough to say they also had to pay more tax

Xrayser It doesn’t matter what a trained healthcare professional says, so much as the number of likes received by the product’s Facebook page

Xrayser re-examines his actions when a reader calls him to task

Xrayser How much would you pay for a chocolate muffin – £1.50? The NHS paid £30 this week. For one gluten-free muffin.

Xrayser Community pharmacy is taking on more and more of a 'community' aspect, Xrayser finds this week

Xrayser Can undue pressure from management ever be a justification for fraud?

Xrayser Work has Xrayser developing conspiracy theories this week

Xrayser The laws around drugs are supposed to protect the public, but these two examples show that to be nonsense

Xrayser I've been a very good pharmacist this year, so here's my Christmas present list. First of all, I'd like a new contract, as the one I've got is so old-fashioned...

Are we beginning to follow the lead of the Consumers’ Association and exert our rights on the high street? Or are we – to quote our Antipodean cousins – a nation of whingeing poms?

If I manufactured trendy gadgets or designer handbags, it would be OK to play the market to boost profits. But suppose my products were something essential to wellbeing, such as medicines. Shouldn’t the law prevent manipulation of supply by whatever or whoever?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not advocating we abandon all pharmaceutical treatment of ill-health – but the ‘pill for every ill’ belief is not right either.

It’s not enough to say: “For me to succeed needs but mine enemies to fail.” Such a view was short-sighted even in the good years, let alone in 2011, says Xrayser

Xrayser I read today that it’s the little things that cheer us up – such as fresh sheets when we get into bed or finding a £10 note in a pair of jeans.