RCGP eLearning Podcast

Diagnosing cancer in primary care is difficult. Many patients present with non-specific symptoms and the positive predictive value of even the ‘red flag’ symptoms is low. In this podcast, Dr Thomas Round and Professor Willie Hamilton discuss the issues around cancer diagnosis in primary care, including the positive predictive value of symptoms, the increasing number of two-week wait referrals and the usefulness of tests such as Ca125.

Financial support for the project was provided as an Independent Medical Education Grant from Pfizer Limited. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Reviewed and updated: April 2026

In this podcast, Dr Emma Nash talks to Professor Derek Connolly about cardiovascular disease and lipid management. Measuring and interpreting lipid profiles and when to initiate treatment are discussed. Professor Connolly takes us through the various treatment options and their respective benefits, in light of the updated lipid pathway, and illustrates the benefits that they can have on cardiovascular risk, both in terms of primary and secondary prevention.

Dr Emma Nash DOI: https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/bio/teacher.php?id=4205
Prof Derek Connolly DOI: https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/bio/teacher.php?id=168787

Reviewed and updated: September 2026

An educational grant was received from Amarin UK Limited for the production of this resource. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a lifelong condition which can impact on many areas of a person’s life. In this podcast, Dr Toni Hazell and Dr Kevin Barrett discuss how we can diagnose inflammatory bowel disease at an earlier stage and make logical use of the tests available to us. They then go on to discuss the management of flares of the disease and holistic care for patients with IBD, at all stages of life. 

This podcast was funded by Crohn's & Colitis UK. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP eLearning.

Reviewed and updated: February 2026

In this podcast we talk to Dr David Kernick about migraine treatments and the availability of newer medications to help manage uncontrolled symptoms. Both preventative and therapeutic options are explored, in conjunction with discussion about the roles of primary and secondary care.

Reviewed and updated: October 2026

In this podcast we talk to Dr David Kernick about the relationship between women's health and migraine. The effect of hormones and changes to the pattern of migraines throughout life are explored, and the relevance of migraines in the prescription of contraception and hormone replacement therapy is also discussed.

Reviewed: October 2026

In this podcast, Dr Nicholas Jones, GP cardiologist, academic GP and Wellcome Trust Doctoral Research Fellow, discusses heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Left ventricular function in HFpEF is normal, or near normal - that is, 50% or greater - but with symptoms that we recognise as being of heart failure. He talks about recognising and diagnosing the syndrome, along with potential treatment options and emerging evidence on effective therapies for symptoms control and prognostic benefit.

Production, editorial, and distribution owned by the Royal College of General Practitioners.