Talking Meds - A PrescQIPP podcast

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Philip Newland-Jones about new treatments for obesity and the updated NICE guideline from January 2025.Philip is a Consultant Pharmacist in Diabetes and Endocrinology and leads a large dynamic team at University Hospital Southampton. He works at a National level on various committees including being the lead pharmacist for the NHS England Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinical Reference Group.Jonathan and Philip discuss various challenging and sometimes controversial issues around the management of obesity. The evidence for the effectiveness of some of the medicines options is impressive, but they are not without side effects - careful and appropriate use is key. Many new medicines are in development and Philip gives us an insight into what we can expect on the horizon.PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:Bulletin 323: Bariatric surgery July 2023PrescQIPP Prescribing Mastery; Prescribing Hot topics 26th March 2025Useful NICE obesity resources:Tirzepatide: local formulary informationA practical guide to using medicines to manage overweight and obesityOther resources mentioned in this episode:NHS England Interim commissioning guidance fortirzepatide (Mounjaro®)A new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, introduces the first episode of a new series called 'Caring about medicines in Care Homes with Jonathan and Sundus'. We meet Sundus Jawad, who works for NHS Frimley, and has over 25 years' experience working closely with GP practices, care homes and other providers. In this episode, our hosts discuss some of issues she comes across commonly in her everyday work in care settings, which will be covered in more detail in future episodes. These include specific medicines safety challenges, common medication errors, the importance of nutrition and hydration as well as dealing with some of the behavioural aspects of dementia. The role of pharmacy professionals within the wider multidisciplinary team is at the heart of all of this and Sundus shares some memorable stories of people living in care settings she has met along the way.PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:PrescQIPP Care Homes webkitPrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass - September 2024 - Antipsychotic prescribing in people with dementiaPrescQIPP Bulletin 268: IMPACTPrescQIPP Bulletin 356: Stopping over-medication of psychotropic drugsPrescQIPP Bulletin 331: Medication reviews in patients with multi-morbidityOther resources mentioned in this episode:NICE Guideline on Managing medicines in care homesCare Quality Commission Medicines information for adult social care servicesRepeat Prescribing ToolkitNational Polypharmacy Programme from Wessex Health Innovation NetworkGet details of upcoming ALS cohorts and book your place here.A new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Hadeel Mohamed about a fantastic programme she co-leads to provide mentorship for female pharmacists from an ethnically diverse background – ENIGMA.Hadeel is a senior pharmacist prescriber with a background in hospital and general practice. She is currently Deputy Head of Clinical Pharmacy and Education Lead for a GP Federation in Leeds and Polypharmacy Clinical Lead for Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber. Hadeel is also in her final year of a PhD at The University of Bradford, which is exploring medication self-management behaviours in older people using multiple medicines at the hospital-to-home transition.Jonathan and Hadeel first met via the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentorship scheme - https://www.rpharms.com/development/mentoring. Mentoring is important to both of them and they talk about Hadeel's inspiration to set up and lead (with fellow pharmacist Emily Turner) the ENIGMA programme. ENIGMA stands for ‘ENhancing leadershIp amonGst ethnically diverse feMale phArmacists’. In particular they discuss why such programmes are important to overcome some of the rather stark workforce figures (32% of the UK pharmacy workforce are women from an ethnically diverse background, yet only 6% of NHS Band 9 posts are made up of people) from this group). They discuss the initial success stories from this and how it is important that this work continues on a firm footing.PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:PrescQIPP Skills training: MentoringPrescQIPP Leadership at Lunch webinarsOther resources mentioned in this episode:Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentorship schemeENIGMA programmeFind out more and contact Hadeel or Emily on LinkedInA new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Dr Julian Treadwell, an academic GP who has developed the absolutely fabulous resource GP Evidence.Julian has worked for many years in UK General Practice and is keenly interested in polypharmacy, multiple long-term conditions and evidence-based practice. He developed the website GP Evidence which provides easily accessible and understandable information on the benefits and harms of treatments for long-term conditions. He has additional roles with NICE as a moderator of their GP Reference Panel, was a founding member of the Royal College of General Practitioners standing group on Overdiagnosis (see below if you want to join) and is an associate editor of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:PrescQIPP webinar March 2023: Making evidence understandable - why you need to use GP Evidence.PrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass 25th February 2025:  The GP Evidence website: user-friendly clinical evidence to support shared decision making about treatments for long-term conditions.Other resources mentioned in this episode:GP Evidence websiteDo clinicians overestimate benefits and underestimate the risks of treatments? BJGP Open - GPs’ understanding of the benefits and harms of treatments for long-term conditions: an online surveyNICE Shared decision making guideline and eLearning:Shared decision making NICE guideline [NG197]Shared decision making eLearning packageSeminal paper by Gabbay and Le May (and their updated book as reviewed by Trish Greenhalgh)Original BMJ paper from 2004 - Evidence based guidelines or collectively constructed “mindlines?” Ethnographic study of knowledge management in primary careMindlines: making sense of evidence in practice, John Gabbay and Andrée le May, BJGP 2016Knowledge Transformation in Healthcare: Putting Mindlines to Work edited by John Gabbay and Andrée le MayA new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here

In this episode of Talking Meds we continue the series ‘Sensible prescribing in Older people with Jonathan and Lucy' with a discussion between Jonathan Underhill and Dr Lucy Pollock about the prescribing of statins.So we meet Mrs Evans, an 87 year old lady who lives with her daughter in a ‘granny flat’ annex of her house. She has several co-morbidites including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and has recently had a stroke. Her daughter is concerned about her mum who she says ‘the sparkle has gone from her eyes’. Mrs Evans often looks at her daily handful of medicines and asks ‘what’s the point?Mrs Evans has recently been prescribed atorvastatin 80mg a day - in line with the guideline from NICE. Mrs Evan’s daughter asks Lucy - ‘are these new tablets worth my mum’s time?’ To try and help answer this, Jonathan and Lucy look at the icon arrays on the statins tab of GP Evidence where it shows how, out of 100 people like Mrs Evans who don't take a statin, around 29 will have a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. If all 100 take a statin, then 7 will be prevented from having a cardiovascular event but 22 will still have one. So the majority, 78, will not have a heart attack or stroke, but 71 wouldn’t have had one anyway without taking a statin!Explaining risks and benefits using numbers can often help some people - but not everyone. The important thing is to ask and find out 'what is it that really matters to you?'PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:PrescQIPP Lipid modification e-learning course (pay per use)PrescQIPP Prescribing Mastery webinar 'Cholesterol management' Other resources mentioned in this episode:BBC Podcast with Rory Stewart - the long history of ignoranceCardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification (NG238)Risk communication: NICE Shared Decision making guideline recommendations 1.4Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin - How to communicate evidence to patients by Baroness Alex FreemanA new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Join Prof. Anna Murphy, a respiratory pharmacy expert with over 25 years in the field, and Ravijyot Saggu, an honorary lecturer dedicated to sustainable care, as they discuss groundbreaking updates to asthma guidelines. They explore the integration of NICE, BTS, and SIGN recommendations, emphasizing a person-centered approach. Topics include new treatment protocols, challenges in asthma diagnosis, and the crucial role of pharmacists in patient care. Their insights on enhancing collaboration in asthma management are both enlightening and vital for improving health outcomes.

Lucy Pollock, a consultant geriatrician and author, shares her insights on sensible prescribing for older adults facing heart failure. She discusses the 'Four Pillars' approach to treatment, emphasizing the importance of tailoring care to patients' needs rather than rigidly following protocols. Through the case of Janet, an 86-year-old woman coping with loss and loneliness, they explore the significance of understanding patients' priorities and the power of empathetic communication in enhancing quality of life and care.

Neal Maskrey, a seasoned GP and author, shares insights from his book, 'Rebalancing Medicine.' He discusses the evolution of medical narratives, blending personal stories with historical contexts. The conversation dives into the complexities of healthcare systems and the vital role of empathy in patient interactions. Maskrey emphasizes the need for a patient-centered approach amidst resource challenges, advocating for quality of life over costly technologies. His reflections offer crucial guidance for future healthcare professionals and policymakers.

Dr. Lucy Pollock, a consultant geriatrician and author specializing in older people's care, joins Jonathan Underhill to discuss the concept of drug holidays, especially during the festive season. They explore when it’s appropriate to pause medications, enhancing life quality and reducing drug burden. Lucy shares insights on managing alcohol consumption safely while on medication, emphasizing moderation. The conversation also touches on aging and healthcare storytelling, advocating for patient-centered care and improved healthcare experiences.

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Hayley Berry about the update to the NICE Guideline on the identification and management of the menopause, published in November 2024. Hayley has a background in community pharmacy and general practice and now works for CPPE at the University of Manchester as a Lead learning development pharmacist. As a pharmacist independent prescriber, she works at a private menopause clinic and was a member of the NICE Menopause guideline development committee.Jonathan and Hayley discuss the important aspects of the update and touch on some of the somewhat controversial issues that surround this subject. The choice about whether to take HRT or not is a highly preference sensitive decision, where the values and preference of each woman needs to be taken into account. They discuss the various tools available to help facilitate those conversations, particularly the discussion tool published by NICE to accompany the guideline update, as well as the excellent GP Evidence website and the upcoming patient decision aid being developed by the Winton Centre.They also discuss the research recommendations within the guideline, highlighting how relatively poor the existing evidence base is for the management of the menopause.Resources mentioned in this episode include:NICE Guideline on Menopause: identification and management. NG 23 – updated November 2024Tools from NICE to communicate the benefits and risks of HRTGP Evidence has summarised the evidence on the benefits and risks of HRT for menopause.Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication – watch this space for the upcoming menopause patient decision aidNICE CKS Menopause topic (excellent for a quick summary of the guidance)Useful related resources from PrescQIPP:PrescQIPP Bulletin 299. MenopausePrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass on 29th January 2025 on the NICE Menopause GuidelineA new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.infoPrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals. The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you. Find out more about PrescQIPP here