The Pharmacist's Podcast

In this episode, reporter Emily Warner delves into concerns about fake online pharmacies and unregulated medicines as well as the benefits of digital care.

She is joined by Earim Chaudry and Danielle Brightman –  part of the recently established Coalition of Responsible Digital Health (CORDH) – alongside Dr Anju Verma, GP and clinical lead for weight-loss at Boots Online Doctor, and Sarina Mughal, a pharmacy director in London.

They discuss the challenges and opportunities for online pharmacy as it gains popularity and the role of bricks-and-mortar pharmacies in this evolving landscape.

The guests also consider how the heavy regulation of digital providers, designed to prevent unsafe practice and the sale of illegal medicines, may be stifling innovation.

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This epsiode was produced by Emily Warner. 

Last week, the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare set out how the NHS could give patients faster access to AI advances with proportionate safeguards.

The commission gathered evidence from more than 12,000 people – including patients, clinicians, healthcare leaders, industry and technology developers – making it the largest engagement ever undertaken in the UK on the regulation of healthcare technology.

In this episode, reporter Emily Warner travels to the Science Media Centre for a briefing on the new recommendations and speaks to experts about how pharmacies should be using AI tools in practice.

Free registration for The Pharmacist newsletters here.

This epsiode was produced by Emily Warner. 

In this episode, reporter Emily Warner is joined by the chief executive of Community Pharmacy England (CPE), Janet Morrison, for an exclusive look behind the scenes of the pharmacy contract negotiations.

Ms Morrison unpacks what actually happened during negotiations, why the CPE committee was so reluctant to accept the deal, and what the ‘programme of reform’ will entail.

She explains what she is most proud of and most disappointed by in the new contract, as well as the many proposals CPE made that fell by the wayside during negotiations.

And sheds light on the two-month delay in reaching an agreement which sector leaders described as ‘inexcusable’ given the financial pressures facing pharmacy – including the rise in business rates, increased wages, and inflationary costs. 

Free registration for The Pharmacist newsletters here.

This epsiode was produced by Emily Warner. 

In the first episode of our new podcast The Pharmacist's Podcast, reporter Emily Warner travels to the leafy village of South Mimms to meet Andy Morling, head of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) criminal enforcement unit. 

Andy and his team have led the UK’s response to a growing black market for illegal weight loss medicines.

They recently seized almost 2,000 doses of unauthorised weight loss drugs following raids on two properties in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

These premises were believed to have been used for the manufacture and distribution of unlicensed weight loss meds, including retatrutide and tirzepatide, as well as peptide products.

And in October last year, they dismantled a large-scale illegal manufacturing facility in Northampton – what authorities believe to be the largest-ever global seizure of its kind.

In this podcast episode, Andy explains how these operations are uncovered and shut down and discusses the risks posed to patients who obtain medicines outside regulated channels.

He also discusses how the market for illegal medicines is evolving and what future enforcement activity could look like.

Free registration for The Pharmacist newsletters here.

This epsiode was produced by Emily Warner.