Inside Health

Dr Mark Porter demystifies the health issues that perplex us and separates the facts from the fiction. He brings clarity to conflicting health advice, explores new medical research and tackles the big health issue of the moment revealing the inner workings of the medical profession and the daily dilemmas doctors face.As new figures published show that 1 in 7 women in England continue to smoke during pregnancy, Inside Health investigates a pilot incentive scheme - which gives women just over £750 worth of vouchers if they give up, and stay off cigarettes for at least 6 months after they give birth. What is the evidence that these incentive schemes work?And what about incentives encouraging doctors to ask whether a patient smokes, or check their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Dr Margaret McCartney explains why she is one of many GPs who are uncomfortable with the way incentives can influence practicePlus if you've been plagued by a recurring dry tickly cough, it could be caused by a widely used family of blood pressure drug - the ACE inhibitors. Mark Porter investigates.And although it's been slightly warmer that's likely to be cold comfort for 10 million people in the UK with Raynaud's disease where the fingers turn ghostly white after exposure to temperature changes .Presenter: Dr Mark Porter Producer: Erika Wright.

As the Prime Minister announces his efforts to reduce compensation claims for whiplash, Dr Mark Porter asks are doctors having the wool pulled over their eyes? Or are drivers and passengers making mountains out of molehills? Our resident sceptic Kamran Abbasi looks behind recent headlines that suggested weaning your baby on finger foods may be a healthier option than spoon feeding. And in response to our listeners, cholesterol tests - what do they mean, and what should we do about them? Statins are the main mode of prevention for those at greatest risk of heart attack and stroke. But how do you balance the risk of side effects with the protection they provide? We explore the latest research.And how many times have you been to a hospital appointment only to find that the doctor seeing you doesn't have your notes or test results? By 2015, the Department of Health hopes to give us all access to our notes via a centralised electronic record. We examine an alternative approach being tried at various hospitals including Great Ormond Street Hospital. Called Patients Know Best, it works a bit like Facebook and puts the patient in charge.Producer: Beth Eastwood.

Dr Mark Porter demystifies the health issues that perplex us and separates the facts from the fiction. He brings clarity to conflicting health advice, explores new medical research and tackles the big health issue of the moment revealing the inner workings of the medical profession and the daily dilemmas doctors face. This week Mark examines the protocols for visitors to hospitals and asks whether there's any evidence that they help control the spread of infection - is there any science behind using the hand gels provided? Why do some hospitals ban flowers - and should you be able to sit on the hospital bed of your loved one?Martin Kiernan - Nurse Consultant in prevention and control of infection - helps to clear up the confusion. Inside Health discovers that gout - a condition associated with older portly men caricatured in cartoons and literature - is on the increase and striking much younger. And while it has been the butt of many a joke, it has never been a laughing matter - at least for those afflicted.And after the longest grand slam final in history just over a week ago, Mark Porter investigates a new treatment for Tennis Elbow that is used by the top players, Olympic athletes, and is available to mere mortals on the NHS in a handful of places. Plus Dr Max Pemberton investigates whether the explosion in the use of tablets, such as the i-Pad, has caused a similar elbow injury.An Margaret McCartney scrutinises new research suggesting that people with coeliac disease are not the only ones who can develop symptoms if they eat gluten containing foods. Gluten is a component of wheat, barley and rye, and responsible for triggering coeliac disease in around 1% of the UK population, causing problems that include bloating, diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. But there now appears to be another group of people with milder symptoms caused by gluten sensitivity - or gluten intolerance - the terms are interchangeable - but how do you identify them? Well certainly not with fancy High Street tests.Producer: Erika Wright.

On Inside Health this week, the bacteria Pseudomonas that's been responsible for a number of deaths in special care baby units in Northern Ireland.Mark Porter asks Prof Richard James, Director of Healthcare Associated Infection at the University of Nottingham, why the outbreak occurred and how the Department of Health is likely to try to prevent future occurrence..We look at a new class of drugs that could transform the lives of tens of thousands of people on warfarin. Recently approved by NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, these drugs overcome many of the drawbacks of taking warfarin. Mark Porter explores just who is likely to benefit if the drug gets its final endorsement from NICE next week.Mark also explores which prescription drugs are addictive, and how wearing high heels can damage your calves but might improve your sex life.Presenter: Dr Mark Porter Producer: Beth Eastwood.

Inside Health covers the ongoing debate about proposed reforms to the NHS in England. This week Colleges representing nurses, midwives and physios have joined sceptical GPs and hospital specialists by announcing their opposition to the reforms. And, just out, a report by a cross party select committee on health questions whether current financial pressures make it too risky to implement the most radical changes in the Service's history.Health Minister Lord Howe talks to Dr Mark Porter in response to the criticisms from Professor Martin McKee and Dr Clare Gerada in last week's programme..And an Inside Health listener emailed to ask why Tinnitus confuses patients as well as doctors. Dr Max Pemberton investigates.Plus why are teenagers - the most internet savvy generation of all - finding it difficult to access good health information in the internet? Psychologist Ellen Henderson at the University of Bath is one of the authors behind a new study looking at websites aimed at young people and offering advice on treating pain like headaches and period cramps.Vitamin D supplementation is currently recommended for all groups at particular risk of deficiency - such as pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children - but three quarters of parents, and more than half of doctors, midwives and health visitors are not up to speed with the latest guidance, so don't follow it. As Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, writes to healthcare professionals highlighting the importance of vitamin D supplements Inside Health talks to Nick Bishop Professor of Paediatric bone disease at The University of Sheffield.Finally, our resident sceptic Dr Margaret McCartney explains why she doesn't rate over the counter cough mixtures.Producer: Erika Wright.

The programme that uncovers the real stories behind the health headlines, providing clarity where there's confusion.First, a subject that looks set to be in the headlines this week - growing disquiet about the Health and Social Care Bill and changes to the NHS which include the transfer of responsibility and resources to GPs.Many health experts simply don't understand the reforms, including international public health expert Professor Martin McKee who confesses in this week's British Medical Journal that he doesn't get it either. So what chance is there for the rest of us?It's not just bewilderment that's likely to hinder the implementation of the new Bill. There's active resistance from both hospital consultants and GPs. But what are the reforms going to mean for you? Dr Clare Gerada, the Chair of the Royal College of GPs, discusses this question with Mark.Mark Porter puts his mental agility to the test at the Research Institute for the Care of the Elderly in Bath to find out whether there's any truth behind recent headlines suggesting that our cognitive abilities start to decline from forty five. Professor Roy Jones tells Mark the results of his memory test.And GP Margaret McCartney explores the thinking behind Do No Resuscitate Orders, the record put in a patient's notes when staff feel that attempts to resuscitate them in the event of cardiac arrest are likely to do more harm than good.Finally, the holy grail to combat all flu viruses - a universal vaccine. Mark Porter visits the world's only Flu Camp where new versions of the vaccine are being trialled in volunteers. Professor David Salisbury, Head of Immunisation at the Department of Health, and Dr Kamran Abbasi, Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, join Mark to discuss the use of the current flu vaccine.Producer: Beth Eastwood.

New Series: Dr Mark Porter demystifies the health issues that perplex us and separates the facts from the fiction. He brings clarity to conflicting health advice, explores new medical research and tackles the big health issue of the moment revealing the inner workings of the medical profession and the daily dilemmas doctors face. This week Mark Porter looks at the regulation covering medical devices and implants - everything from artificial joints, to pacemakers and heart valves - and explains why more needs to be done to protect the general public who are often unwitting guinea pigs for untried technology. He asks why is it so much easier to get approval for devices like new hip or breast implants compared with the strict protocols observed for drugs? All you need for most devices is the equivalent of the CE mark - the sort of approval you would expect to find on a toy or a kitchen appliance, not a pacemaker - which may explain why some have unacceptably high failure rates. Inside Health's psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton investigates a question tweeted to the programme - what's the role of testosterone supplements in men. And following the Prime Minister's comment about Tourette's syndrome Max tells Mark what the condition really involves. Mark talks to Prof Tony Heagerty from the University of Manchester and Professor Tom McDonald from the University of Dundee about new research suggesting that taking pills at night rather than in the morning reduces the risk of complications like stroke and heart attack. And there's a column from GP Margaret McCartney about what goes on in her head when she's making a diagnosis. If there is an issue that confuses you - that you've read or heard about - then please get in touch. Contact us on twitter @BBCRadio 4 using the hash tag #InsideHealth or email the programme via the Radio 4 website. Producer: Erika Wright.