The Aural Apothecary The Three Apothecaries

Did you know that according to the OECD, a fifth of healthcare costs adds no value to patient care? This, along with the drive for shared decision making is the drive behind Scotland’s ‘Realistic Medicine’ campaign. We chat to Dr Catherine Labinjoh, Consultant Cardiologist and National Clinical Advisor to the Realistic Medicine programme about the campaign.

One of the main aims of Realistic Medicine is for people using healthcare services and their families to feel empowered to discuss their treatment fully with healthcare professionals, including the possibility that a suggested treatment might come with side effects – or even negative outcomes. Everyone should feel able to ask their healthcare professional why they’ve suggested a test, treatment or procedure, and all decisions about a person’s care should be made jointly between the individual and their healthcare team. This is a theme we have covered often on the podcast and so we explore with Catherine what this means for how healthcare is being delivered in Scotland.

In our micro-discussion, we talk about a recent article in the New Statesman “I can’t find a diagnosis for Ted – but he can diagnose modern medicine”. Ted explains how ““Everything’s decided on thousands of people…. that can’t possibly tell you what to do for any individual.” https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2024/03/i-cant-find-a-diagnosis-for-ted-but-he-can-diagnose-modern-medicine In tandem we discuss a recent BMJ Quality & Safety about the coordination of care for patients with heart failure.  https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/33/4/232?ijkey=d1d5807c3fd3a9dff0a2cb225570adea3a3bc139&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha In a truly memorable conversation, we also pick up on the role of a ‘single-organologist’ versus a generalist – “the patient is more than the organ of your choice…” We seek out that “elusive unicorn, the time rich specialist generalist!” 

As with all of our guests, Catherine shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her life.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

It takes a special sort of person to work in paediatric care. We chat to Alison Tennant, Chief Pharmacist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust about the risks and rewards of working with children and their medicines. Parents going home with bags of bottles, the difficulties of shared decision making and instead of DNA we have DNB - Did not Bring. A joyous and fascinating episode where we delve into the art and practice of prescribing in children.

In our micro discussion we discuss the excellent paper “Why learning how to swallow pills is good for patients, parents, and the planet” in which we learn about the importance of teaching children how to swallow tablets. Both as a lifeskill and as a measure to support sustainability. “If you can swallow Lego you can swallow a tablet!” https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-076257

Video: Kidzmedz Project: Teaching Children to Swallow Tablets: https://youtu.be/XwiuU-k2FIM?si=pXmEULvikHBA4Ftt
As with all of our guests, Alison shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Alison’s choice is as unique as you might expect!

Bonus Content! Pharmacogenomics in Children- Listen to Alison talk about her favourite subject regarding pharmacogenomics in mental health youngsters,  and how it helps the shared decision making process in deciding which medicines to use https://www.theauralapothecary.com/p/bonus-material/

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

How do you influence the prescribing habits of an entire country? This is the task of NHS England’s National Clinical Director of Prescribing Professor Tony Avery. We chat to Tony about this new, groundbreaking leadership role and techniques used to influence and improve prescribing practice across a whole nation. In addition to this role Tony is a practising GP, a professor of primary health care at the University of Nottingham and an NIHR Senior Investigator.

In 2012, Tony and his team developed ‘Pharmacist-led Information Technology Intervention for Medication Errors’ — or PINCER — project, which was rolled out nationally to general practices in England to tackle hazardous prescribing from 2018.

In our micro-discussion, we talk about the recent Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2023: health in an ageing society https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2023-health-in-an-ageing-society Professor Chris Whitty's report recommends actions to improve quality of life for older adults and prioritise areas with the fastest growth in older people. We discuss the concept of ‘Lifespan vs Healthspan’ and what that means for prescribing in an increasingly specialist medical model .

As with all of our guests, Tony shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Be prepared for an Aural Apothecary first as Tony surprises us with his choice of song…

Join us for our next live show in Bordeaux for the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists Congress! https://www.eahp.eu/congresses/programme

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

A lively chat as we are joined by sexual health pharmacist Sally Kneath. Sally busts the myths that often surround people living with HIV and details how it is managed today - perhaps not how you would imagine. We reflect on the impact of the stigma caused by the 80’s ‘Don’t die of ignorance’ campaigns that still exists today and how we need to move toward seeing HIV alongside any other chronic condition.

Sally has also been instrumental in developing and promoting the use of naloxone and its role in saving hundreds, if not thousands, of people at risk of overdose from opiates. Watch her talk about it here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaOUCo1M2mk

In our micro-discussion we discuss HIV Care among Elderly Patients https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40266-022-01003-3

BONUS CONTENT: HIV Testing, PeP and PreP - Listen to Sally talk about the importance of HIV testing and reducing the stigma attached. Find out about HIV preventative drugs and prophylaxis.

As with all of our guests, Sally shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her life. The drug may literally save your life!

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com. Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg
You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

We are joined by Professor Bapu Jena. Physician, economist, author of ‘Random Acts of Medicine’ and host of the superb ‘Freakonomics MD’ podcast, we explore with Bapu the concept of ‘natural experimentation’. How might a marathon be bad for your health? Why might you be safer not seeing a cardiologist after a heart attack? What is the impact of striking doctors on health outcomes?

Bapu is Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and a physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and so we discuss health economics, and the differences between US and UK healthcare. We also see a new interview style from Jamie as he poses some of his most challenging questions yet…

As with all of our guests, Bapu shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Bapu’s book choice proves challenging!

Read about Bapu here https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/people/anupam-b-jena. Also check out the superb Freakonomics MD podcast https://freakonomics.com/series/bapu/ - it is one of Steve’s favourites.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

For our first episode of series 6 we are delighted to be joined by former BBC reporter Rory Cellen-Jones. As well as a successful career in journalism, Rory is also part of “Movers and Shakers’ - the hit podcast about life with Parkinsons.

Rory was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2019 and has spent recent years investigating the role technology can play in improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We discuss the role medicines now play in his life, his experience of healthcare and the need to make Parkinson’s disease more visible with help for patients to navigate the system.

A key theme of Rory’s experience has been the impact of communication - both good and bad. In our micro-discussion we discuss the report by DEMOS “I love the NHS but… preventing needless harms caused by poor communication in the NHS” https://demos.co.uk/research/i-love-the-nhs-but-preventing-needless-harms-caused-by-poor-communications-in-the-nhs/ - a powerful exploration of the problems caused by poor communication and recommendations on how to solve it.

We also discuss Rory’s fantastic memoir ‘Ruskin Park - Sylvia, me and the BBC’ - http://litalist.com/book/9781914613432. Keep an ear out for the drug ‘Oblivon’ and its interesting instructions…

As with all of our guests, Rory shares with us a Desert Island Drug, a life anthem and book that has influenced his life. Rory’s choice comes with a lesson from Steve in Pharmacology…!

Rory’s fame of course is succeeded by his more famous pet - check out #sophiefromromania on Twitter to enjoy the story of a rescue dog from Romania.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

You can find out more about the superb Movers and Shakers podcast here; it is superb and a must listen for anyone interested in the lived experience of people with a chronic condition. @moversand6 https://open.spotify.com/show/4dipKcMG0IocnGsdRmB2nJ

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O