Many people with well-controlled asthma are prescribed unnecessarily high doses of inhaled corticosteroids, which can increase the risk of adverse effects and costs for patients. Laura Beaton chats with respiratory physician Helen Reddel about how to step down treatment.

E137 – Stepping down asthma preventer treatment

The Australian Prescriber Podcast provides a regular dive into some of the many great articles that Australian Prescriber publishes every two months. In each episode, our host will chat with one of the authors from a recent issue of Australian Prescriber.

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Health & Fitness

Dhineli Perera sits down with Adam Nelson to discuss updates in the management of hypercholesterolaemia. Adam explains how triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol differ in their links to cardiovascular disease. He provides useful tips for checking a lipid profile and highlights other tests that may be helpful when assessing a patient with hypercholesterolaemia. Adam also explains the latest in treatments for reducing LDL cholesterol concentrations and what this means for the role of statins. Read the full article by Adam Nelson and Stephen Nicholls in Australian Prescriber.

E161 - Managing hypercholesterolaemia

Jo Cheah chats with clinical pharmacologist Richard Day about off-label prescribing. Ric explains why off-label prescribing occurs, the barriers to getting new indications added to a drug’s approved label, and the potential risks of off-label prescribing without sufficient evidence. Read the  full article by Richard Day in Australian Prescriber.

E160 - Ongoing challenges of off-label prescribing

Justin Coleman sits down with Lee Fong to discuss the changes to the latest version of Therapeutic Guidelines: Dermatology. Lee talks about misconceptions around the use of topical corticosteroids, tailoring treatments to the subtype of acne, and management tips for scabies, sweating disorders, psoriasis and much more.

E159 - Therapeutic Guidelines Dermatology

Dhineli Perera and Andrew McLachlan, Dean of The University of Sydney’s Pharmacy School, talk about the 2022 National Medicines Policy. Andrew gives an overview of the refreshed Policy, what’s changed, and how the Policy can be implemented into practice. Read the  full article by Andrew and his colleague, Parisa Aslani, in Australian Prescriber.

E158 - National Medicines Policy 2.0

Dhineli Perera chats with clinical pharmacologist and fellow podcast host David Liew about Australia's top 10 drugs over the last 2 years. David explains the relationship between the PBAC and the PBS and the different ways the top 10 drugs are presented, and offers some insights into why particular drugs are on the lists. Read the full articles for  2021-22 and  2022-23 in Australian Prescriber.

E137 – Stepping down asthma preventer treatment

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