Purple Pen Podcast

Jane sat down with Dr Chris Leung from Austin Health. Chris is a gastroenterologist, medical lead for clinical education and local clinical lead for Choosing Wisely. Jane and Chris talk about: the reasons why proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are in the top 10 most commonly prescribed medicines in Australia the problems associated with long-term PPIs The general principles of the Choosing Wisely campaign in Australia

Dan sat down with Nashwa Masnoon, a PhD student at the University of South Australia and pharmacist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and Professor Sepehr Shakib Director of Clinical Pharmacology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Nashwa and Sepehr spoke to Dan about a new web-based tool that they have developed: WIPE (What is Polypharmacy Exactly?).  The WIPE tool is being used to gauge opinions of Australian clinicians about what polypharmacy means in practice. Users are presented with cases and asked to rate the risk of medicine-related harm. The results will be used to inform a working definition for polypharmacy in Australia. You can access the WIPE tool here: wipe.logicsquad.net/signup

Jane and Dan spoke to Dr Rohan Elliott, senior pharmacist in aged care at Austin Health, adjunct senior lecturer at Monash University, and a research consultant with the Royal District Nursing Service Institute.  We talk to Rohan about: ·      The definition of geriatric medicine, and what it means to be frail ·      How the geriatric medicine approach differs from other specialties ·      Decision making in geriatric medicine  

Jane and Dan talk to Hao Vo-Tran, a pharmacist at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne and editor of the Royal Women’s Hospital Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Medicines Guide. We talk to Hao about: General principles in evaluating the safety of medicines in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Limitations of the TGA categorisation system for prescribing medicines in pregnancy Strategies for discussing risks with patients

Jane and Dan chat to Dr Jacinta Johnson, Specialist Pharmacist, Clinical Educator and Lecturer in Pharmacy at the University of South Australia. We talk to Jacinta about The risks from codeine and the reasons behind the decision to reschedule it to a prescription-only medicine.  Whether or not there is a role for codeine as an analgesic. Alternative non-prescription analgesic options  

Jane sat down with Gillian Swinnerton and Jerry Yik from the Pharmacists’ Support Service. We talk about the Pharmacists' Support Service (PSS) and the help that they provide. To contact the Pharmacists' Support Service call 1300 244 910  

Jane and Dan chat to Dr Jo Grace, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist from Austin Health.  We talk to Jo about: What we have learned from 12 months of subsidised Hep C treatment in Australia Clinical considerations when treating patients with direct acting antiviral agents Future directions in hepatitis C: long term outcomes and new pangenotypical treatments  

Jim Siderov is the senior Oncology Pharmacist at Austin Health. He is also an Australian Advanced Practice Pharmacist and is US Board Certified in Oncology Pharmacy.    We speak to Jim about:  Checkpoint inhibitors: their mechanism and role in oncology  Autoimmune toxicities and how they are managed clinically  Emerging evidence and future potential uses for these agents

Dan and Jane are joined by Kristin Michaels, SHPA CEO and Professor Michael Dooley, SHPA President to discuss the proposed changes to the constitution and respond to members frequently asked questions.

Jane visited TAPNA 2017, the scientific meeting of the Toxicology and Poisons Network of Australasia. She spoke to Dr Kent Olson, keynote speaker and Medical Director of the San Francisco Division of the California Poison Control System. Also joining the discussion are two TAPNA attendees: Andrew Harding, Senior Emergency Department Pharmacist at Austin Health and Brett Anderson, Pharmacy Resident at Austin Health. We talk about: controversies in toxicology and their relevance to pharmacists: charcoal, digoxin-specific antibody and antivenoms emerging trends in illicit and prescription medicine abuse new models for accessing information about poisons and medicines

In the 20th episode of the podcast Jane and Dan continue their chat with Dr Rochelle Gellatly. Rochelle is a clinical pharmacy specialist in critical care, an Australian Advanced Practice Pharmacist in Cardiology and a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist with added qualifications in Cardiology. We talk to Rochelle about: the viscious cycle of heart failure (you might need to take notes) the different types of heart failure: HFrEF and HFpEF the newer agents for heart failure: sacubitril and ivabradine

  Heather Cleland, Director of the Victorian Adult Burns Unit at The Alfred join Jane and Dan to discuss the work of the Unit, the management of major burns and medication usage in this special population   

Jane and Dan are joined by Lisa Pont, SHPA Federal Councillor and chair of the National Translational Research Collaborative to discuss how to get your research started, done and published. Lisa also talks about how she is eagerly awaiting her copy of SHPA's new journal "Pharmacy Growth, Research, Innovation and Training - GRIT"

Jane and Dan speak to Emma Dean, smoking cessation co-ordinator at Alfred Health.  We talk to Emma about: The optimal time to start a conversation about smoking cessation The ideal regimen and dosing for nicotine replacement therapy Whether e-cigarettes are a helpful alternative to conventional cigarettes The current thinking about varenicline and neuropsychiatric adverse effects

Jane and Dan talk to Professor Tina Brock, Human of Pharmacy and Professor of Pharmacy Education and Practice at Monash University. We talk to Tina about: Her journey from Mississippi to Melbourne What inter-professional learning means in practice  What goes wrong in inter-professional collaboration and how we can be better at it  Opportunities in automation and disruption  What your online avatar says about you

Jane and Dan chat to Dr Rochelle Gellatly, a clinical pharmacy specialist in critical care, an Australian Advanced Practice Pharmacist in Cardiology and a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist with added qualifications in Cardiology. She is currently working in Vancouver. We talk to Rochelle about: Recent changes in thinking about hyperlipidaemia, target LDLs and risk assessment How scores for cardiovascular risk are used in practice What we know (or don’t) about the optimal dose of a statin and the frequency of adverse events

Jane and Dan speak to Professor Geoff Isbister is a clinical toxicologist and Director of Clinical Toxicology at the University of Newcastle. We talk to Geoff about: The spectrum of clinical presentations of serotonin toxicity Significant drug interactions with SSRIs: tramadol or linezolid? Current trends in pharmaceutical overdose Whether antivenoms are useful (and a shout out to our overseas listeners)

In this special midweek episode, Dan is joined by NAPSA president Shefali Parekh from Congress in Perth. Dan and Shefali chat about NAPSA and the Congress, as well as several topical issues, including codeine up-scheduling, pharmacy student numbers, advanced practice and student placements in hospitals.  

Dan and Jane talk to David Liew, a Rheumatologist and Clinical Pharmacology fellow.   We talk to David about: The difference between biosimilars and generic medicines What is currently known about the safety and efficacy of biosimilar products Implications for pharmacists dispensing biosimilar medicines

Jane is joined by Dawson MacLeod, a specialist in poisons information from the Victorian Poisons Information Centre.  Jane talks to Dawson about: ·      The cardiac QT interval and its clinical significance ·      Risk factors for QT prolongation, particularly in the context of drug interactions ·      The best way to monitor and calculate a corrected QT interval from an ECG ·      Medicines of greatest concern for QT prolongation   The Purple Pen Podcast provides news and education for pharmacists with a focus on Australian clinical pharmacy practice. Brought to you by Austin Health, Alfred Health and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.