The BMJ Podcast

There’s been a lot of attention given to the new antirviral drugs which target Hepatitis C - partly because of the burden of infection of the disease, and the lack of a treatment that can be made easily accessible to around the world, and partly because of the incredible cost of a course of treatment.

But a new article on BMJ talks about the uncertainly of that treatment - do we know that the drugs actually clear a HepC infection, and that this will lead to a corresponding decrease in mortality and morbidity?

Janus Jakobsen from the Copenhagen Clinical Trial Unit joins us to discuss what the literature proves.

Read the full article:

https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1382

We’re in an era of big data - and hospitals and GPs are generating an inordinate amount of it that has potential to improve everyone’s health. But only if it’s used properly. New research published on www.bmj.com this week describes another set of information, about that data, that the authors believe could be just as important as the data itself.

Griffin weber, and Isaac Kohane, from the Department of Biomedical informatics at Harvard medical school join us to discuss.

Read the full research:

https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1479

We talk about financial conflicts of interest a lot atThe BMJ - and have take taken the decision that our educational content should be without them.

We also talk a lot about non-financial conflicts of interest, but the choppy waters of those are much more difficult to navigate.

In this podcast, we discuss whether we should, or if we could even could, make people’s intellectual positions transparent.

Arguing that it’s important to tackle this issue, are Wendy Lipworth and Ian Kerridge from Sydney health Ethics at the University of Sydney - and arguing that it’s not as easy as we think is Marc Rodwin, from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

Read the full head to head:

https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1240

Ravi Gupta, is a resident in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore - and as he said has seen the influence of sudden price hikes on his patients - between 2010 and 2015 more than 300 drugs in the U.S. have seen sudden increases of over %100.

Ravi and his co-authors have suggested, and tested the feasibility of, a possible answer to those price hikes - a small tweak that should protect patients from the possibility that they’ll suddenly be unable to afford their essential medication.

Read the full research:

http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k831

Its now widely agreed that one of the key ways of reducing the current high level of "waste " in biomedical research is to focus it more squarely on addressing the questions that matter to patients - and the people and medical staff that care for them.

In this interview, Tessa Richards - the BMJ's patient partnership editor, talks to Katherine Cowan, independent consultant and a senior advisor the the James Lind Alliance, which has pioneered patient involvement with their research priority setting partnerships.

In this conversation they talk about how these work, the challenge of navigating between different groups with what are often very different views and agendas, and why she thinks healthy debate on divergent views is no bad thing

In a new analysis John McArthur and Krista Rasmussen, from the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution, and Gavin Yamey from Duke University, have set out to analyse the potential for lives saved by the goals set in the Sustainable Development Goals

In this conversation I talked to Gavin and John about the numbers, which countries have to accelerate their development to meet those goals - and we also address some of the criticisms of the SDGs - that they’re too wide ranging, that they lack a political dimension, and that they are unrealistic.

Read the full analysis and more on the SDGs:

http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k373

http://www.bmj.com/content/sustainable-development-goals

Bobbie Farsides is professor of clinical and biomedical ethics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. She’s been described as one of the few people that is acceptable to “both sides” of the assisted dying debate.

This week she joins us to talk about the way in which the debate on euthanasia has played out in the UK - and hear why she thinks it’s now time for all individual doctors to make up their own mind, and not let either camp own the argument for them.

Read her commentary on the debate:

http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k544

The BMJ publishes a variety of education articles, to help doctors improve their practice. Often authors join us in our podcast to give tips on putting their recommendations into practice.

In this audio round-up The BMJ’s clinical editors discuss what they have learned, and how they may alter their practice. Kate Addlington, associate editor and trainee psychiatrist is joined by Cat Chatfield, quality editor and GP.

They discuss acute respiratory distress syndrome:

http://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5055

Why it’s important to have early diagnosis of psychotic symptoms, and the evidence for improved outcomes:

http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j4578

And finally, why it’s important to consider hearing-loss on the ward:

http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k21

Winter pressures on NHS services have kicked in a little bit earlier than usual. So here to discuss that, and also the issue of how local NHS leaders can support staff in times of extreme pressure.

Discussing that with Rebecca Coombes, The BMJ’s head of news and views, are Matthew Inada-Kim, a consultant in acute and general medicine at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Joe Harrison, CEO of Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome was first described in 1967 and has become a defining condition in critical care. Around 40% of patients with ARDS will die, and survivors experience long term sequelae. No drug treatments exist for ARDS, however good supportive management reduces harm and improves outcome.

In this podcast, John Laffey, professor of anaesthesiology at St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto and Brian Kavanagh, clinician-scientist, intensive care medicine at the University of Toronto take us through the background to diagnosis and treatment of ARDS.

Cheryl Misak, professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, and survivor of ARDS, also joins us to explain how she has faired in recovery.

Read the full easily missed article:

http://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5055