Best Pha Uk Podcasts (2025)

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What will 2026 hold for pharmacy? 30:55

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17d ago30:55

30:55

The PJ Pod’s final episode of the year looks ahead to our editorial team’s predictions for pharmacy in 2026. What big changes are coming for the world of pharmacy — and what impact will this have on pharmacists’ day-to-day work?We also look at the biggest stories of 2025, including a new contract that was deemed the best deal in the past decade, th…

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Migraine: what do pharmacists need to know? 28:21

28d ago28:21

28:21

Article Supported ByPfizerFinancial support was provided from Pfizer Ltd. Pfizer have provided only financial support and have had no input into the development or content of the project and associated materials.In this episode of The PJ Pod, senior editor Alex Clabburn shares insights from a recent expert round table meeting hosted and organised b…

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New chronic heart failure guidance: what does it mean for practice? 15:38

1M ago15:38

15:38

In this episode of The PJ Pod, we explore the main changes and implications for practice of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s chronic heart failure guidance update.On 3 September 2025, NICE released its updated guidance on ‘Chronic heart failure in adults: diagnosis and management’.The guidance mentions the role of phar…

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Pharmacy Inside Jobs: the pharmaceutical industry 34:05

2M ago34:05

34:05

In this episode of Pharmacy Inside Jobs, senior features editor Dawn Connelly talks to Sanjay Gudimetla.Gudimetla has worked within the pharmaceutical industry for around nine years and is currently senior medical affairs manager at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He is also a qualified final medical signatory.Before moving to his role within the pharmaceuti…

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Pressures facing pharmacists in 2025 8:47

2M ago8:47

8:47

From rising stress to expanding clinical roles, pharmacists are facing mounting pressures.Chronic understaffing combined with increased demand and limited resources arecompromising patient safety and leaving many pharmacists working alone or rushed.Emotional strain is also growing, with reports of increased abuse and burnout.Despite these challenge…

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Benefits of patient and public involvement in research 18:26

5M ago18:26

18:26

In this episode of The PJ Pod, we look at the benefits of effective patient engagement and speak to the OPERA 2025 shortlist and joint winners, to explore some of the ways that they are working patients and the public to improve the relevance, accessibility and quality of their work. For links to further resources and sources of support when gettin…

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Pharmacy Inside Jobs: ADHD assessment and management 30:48

7M ago30:48

30:48

Our new PJ Pod series — Pharmacy Inside Jobs — has been developed to inspire you to take the next step in your career. Whether you are a pharmacy student or a seasoned pharmacy professional, our goal is to provide insights into the increasingly diverse roles that exist within the profession.In each episode, we will be joined by a guest to explore t…

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Pharmacy Inside Jobs: prison pharmacy 32:25

8M ago32:25

32:25

Our new PJ Pod series — Pharmacy Inside Jobs — is aimed to inspire you to take the next step in your career. Whether you are a pharmacy student or a seasoned pharmacy professional, our goal is to provide insights into the increasingly diverse roles that exist within the profession.In each episode, we will be joined by a guest to explore their caree…

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First UK joint asthma guidance: what does it mean for practice? 18:02

9M ago18:02

18:02

On the 27th of November 2024, the British Thoracic Society (BTS), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) released joint guidance on ‘Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management’. The guidance is the first collaboration of its kind between the organisations.   T…

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Spotlight: MPharm ethnicity awarding gap rewidens 10:25

9M ago10:25

10:25

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s third analysis of MPharm awarding gap data has revealed that the percentage point difference between the proportion of white students and minority ethnic students awarded a first or 2:1 degree increased to 11 percentage points in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.This comes after previous analyses of the data from before and duri…

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Disagreement and conflict in teams 24:39

10M ago24:39

24:39

Disagreement and conflict are unavoidable realities common to all working environments, but for pharmacists and pharmacy teams faced with potentially long hours, stretched resources, increasing complexity and high expectations, it does not take much for problems to escalate. This can put patient safety at risk and contributes to stress and burnout.…

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Spotlight: Palliative care access 8:50

11M ago8:50

8:50

Despite national incentives and locally commissioned services designed to improve availability of palliative care medicines from community pharmacies, access is not evenly distributed across the country.This problem is only set to get worse with demand for these services expected to increase in the coming decades. Marie Curie has estimated that, if…

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Looking back at 2024: a review of the biggest stories in pharmacy 33:59

1y ago33:59

33:59

As has become tradition, The PJ Pod’s final episode of the year looks back over some of the most significant stories in pharmacy in the past 12 months, before members of The PJ editorial team make their predictions for 2025.Big stories of 2024 have included the launch of Pharmacy First in England, a persistent ethnicity pay gap in the profession, t…

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Your views on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's royal college proposals 23:04

1y ago23:04

23:04

In September 2024, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) put forward proposals to take on royal college status, pending a vote of the membership in early 2025.The RPS said the proposals were in response to strategic ambitions amid rapid changes in the pharmacy profession, and followed an independent, 18-month-long review of its constitution and go…

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Spotlight: Safety of time-critical medicines 11:11

1y ago11:11

11:11

High levels of patient safety incidents related to time-critical medicines (TCMs) — medicines that need to be given or taken at a specific time — have persisted for decades. In 2022/2023 alone, there were 17 deaths recorded as a result of medicine dose delivery being delayed or omitted entirely.Solutions, such as using e-prescribing systems, has be…

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Prescribing nature to boost mental health 32:45

1y ago32:45

32:45

Green social prescribing, which can include activities such as community gardening, mindful walks and conservation volunteering — as well as 'blue' activities like kayaking and wild swimming — is gaining traction.Results from a government-backed green social prescribing programme were published in September 2024, showing that it had a positive impa…

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How can pharmacists best support patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia? 30:48

1+ y ago30:48

30:48

Over the last decade, the development of targeted therapies has significantly changed the way that chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is treated. Survival and life expectancy has improved, and this patient cohort is living and receiving treatment for longer than ever before. These changes have meant that the involvement of pharmacists across all s…

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Changes in migraine treatment: how new classes of drugs can offer options for patients & prescribers 31:45

1+ y ago31:45

31:45

In this learning episode, we look at the latest developments in migraine treatment where new classes of drugs are starting to provide additional options for patients and prescribers. For links to relevant articles and further resources on migraine treatment visit the PJ website. Many thanks to Kerri Spalding, a migraine patient, advocate and fundra…

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Medical drone deliveries: a viable option for the NHS? 32:29

1+ y ago32:29

32:29

Drones are already being used to transport medicines in several countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, Switzerland and Rwanda, but what’s the story in the UK, where the road infrastructure is good and the airspace is small and busy? Is there a need for medical drone deliveries? Are they safe and would they be a viable o…

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Getting into research 24:49

1+ y ago24:49

24:49

In this episode of The PJ Pod, we look at how pharmacists can become more involved in research, by hearing directly from those who have done just that. We speak to the members of our OPERA 2024 shortlist, and winner, as well as Parastou Donyai, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, to explore some of the practical steps that individu…

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Spotlight: Pharmacists in community mental health teams 12:03

1+ y ago12:03

12:03

The ‘NHS mental health implementation plan 2019/20–2023/24’, published by NHS England in July 2019, identified a need for “new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care” to support 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illness (SMI).With many of these patients on psychotropic medication, such as clozapine, lithi…

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Pharmacy under fire: managing medicines in war zones 31:33

1+ y ago31:33

31:33

Please note that this episode includes discussions of war and injury that may be distressing to some listeners, with stories from pharmacists working in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza.Horrific stories of injury and death in war zones across the world have become a staple of daily news headlines since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In an effort …

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Revisiting 2023: a look back at the year in pharmacy 24:45

2y ago24:45

24:45

As we reach the end of 2023, this final podcast episode of the year continues our annual tradition of looking back at the biggest stories to affect pharmacy teams across the UK, while reflecting on our highlights from The PJ Pod over the past 12 months.While 2023 has been a significant year for pharmacy, with the announcement of a new NHS 'Pharmacy…

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Becoming a pharmacist prescriber: the highs and lows 29:05

2y ago29:05

29:05

From 2026, all pharmacists will be independent prescribers when they first qualify. But that leaves a whole cohort of non-prescribing pharmacists already in the workforce, many of whom do not want to be left behind.In this episode of The PJ Pod, we accompany three pharmacists — Isabel Macho and Isheeta Mendiratta, who work in primary care, and comm…

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Spotlight: Homecare services in crisis 12:50

2y ago12:50

12:50

In November 2023, an investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that two-thirds of patient safety incidents related to homecare medicine provision were for services provided by the company Sciensus, according to the latest data provided by NHS trusts.The findings came after the House of Lords Public Services Committee opened an inquiry in…

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Spotlight: Deprescribing research 13:57

2y ago13:57

13:57

The term 'deprescribing' refers to the tapering, stopping, discontinuing, or withdrawing of medications for the benefit of patients. It was first used 20 years ago in an article titled 'Deprescribing: achieving better health outcomes for older people through reducing medications' by Michael C. Woodward. Since then, the body of literature has explod…

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BTK inhibitors: what pharmacists need to know 31:54

2y ago31:54

31:54

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors are used to treat cancers caused by defective B cells, such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, B-cell lymphomas and Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). While B-cell malignancies are relatively rare cancers, their incidence is increasing. There are significant side effects and drug interactions associated with …

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Spotlight: the story behind the ADHD prescribing surge 11:38

2+ y ago11:38

11:38

In June 2023, The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that the number of adults in England prescribed medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has more than doubled since January 2020.The increase, which was particularly pronounced in females, has been largely fuelled by increasingly frequent opportunities for adults to pinpoint th…

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End-of-life drugs at home: closing the care gap 25:48

2+ y ago25:48

25:48

Medicines play a critical role in ensuring that people at the end of their lives, and their carers, can manage symptoms, including pain, and remain comfortable at home. But there is evidence that the systems supplying these medicines are difficult, complex and often lead to delays in vital care that leave patients in unnecessary suffering. This in …

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Spotlight: Questions over Pharmacy First 9:07

2+ y ago9:07

9:07

The UK government has said it will introduce a ‘Pharmacy First’ service for England by the end of 2023, as part of a plan for recovering access to primary care.Negotiations are ongoing, but the new service is designed to enable pharmacists to supply medicines for seven common health conditions, including earache, sore throat and urinary tract infec…

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Psychedelic drugs: the new frontier for mental health 30:29

2+ y ago30:29

30:29

***Warning: this episode contains some potentially upsetting content about suicidal thoughts and miscarriage. If you would like to skip this part please fast forward from 09:50 to 17:00***Julia Robinson speaks with experts in the field of psychedelics and mental health, and hears the personal account of someone with first-hand experience of partici…

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Spotlight: The truth about weight-loss injections 12:04

2+ y ago12:04

12:04

So-called ‘skinny jabs’ have been heralded as game-changers for weight management.Wegovy (semaglutide) is due to be launched in the UK imminently, will soon be available from community pharmacies, with large chains already setting up waiting lists for people wanting to get the weekly injection privately.In this episode, Nigel Praities, executive ed…

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Coping with the ‘Davina effect’ on HRT 18:16

2+ y ago18:16

18:16

TV personality Davina McCall has been at the forefront of a much-needed sea change in the awareness of menopause symptoms, leading to many more women seeking HRT.However, as demand as risen, there have also been major shortages of certain products and there have also been claims that, in some cases, hormone therapies are being overprescribed.In thi…

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Spotlight: Ethnicity and the pharmacy degree 10:44

2+ y ago10:44

10:44

In this second Spotlight episode, we talk through an investigation that has shown the awarding gap between white pharmacy graduates and their ethnic minority counterparts in the UK has narrowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.PJ journalists Dawn Connelly and Corrinne Burns share the inside story on how they put the investigation together, what the res…

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Effective deprescribing: getting the most from medicine 24:41

3y ago24:41

24:41

In this learning episode, we have enlisted the help of two experts to explore what it takes to deliver effective deprescribing and ask what pharmacists can do to help patients get the most from their medicines.For links to relevant articles and further resources on deprescribing visit the PJ website: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/featu…

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Spotlight: The ‘new thalidomide’ 9:12

3y ago9:12

9:12

In the UK, three babies are still being born each month after being exposed to sodium valproate. This is despite the risk of foetal valproate spectrum disorder being known about for many years.In the first of a series of shorter ‘Spotlight’ episodes, executive editor Nigel Praities speaks with senior data journalist, Julia Robinson, about her recen…

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Building bridges: pharmacists reaching out to help their communities 25:23

3y ago25:23

25:23

The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed how inequalities in health can be affected by factors such as ethnicity, gender or geography — and all the evidence points to these getting worse.But in this episode, we hear from two pharmacists trying to turn this around.First, Ade Williams, superintendent pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol, exp…

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What will be the big stories in 2023? 27:51

3y ago27:51

27:51

Will pharmacists go on strike over pay? Will medicines shortages improve? What will be the biggest clinical developments next year?The team unpicks some of the biggest pharmacy stories of 2022 and shines a light on what pharmacists should expect in the coming 12 months.Please do let us know what you think we have missed in this episode on social me…

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What does it take to become a consultant pharmacist? 25:33

3y ago25:33

25:33

Two years since the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) took on responsibility for approving consultant pharmacist posts, we look at how these roles are evolving.We also ask how many consultants the profession needs, look at the barriers to reaching this level of practice and explore how the path to becoming a consultant could be made easier.Thanks …

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Anticholinergic drugs and dementia: a causal link? 25:31

3y ago25:31

25:31

Anticholinergic drug use is on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK medicines regulator is also considering extending access to the anticholinergic bladder drug oxybutynin over the counter.In this episode, we will look at the potential implications of these changes, particularly in older people, and examine the case for deprescribing. W…

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Immune-related cancer toxicities: what pharmacists need to know 25:44

3+ y ago25:44

25:44

In this episode, Caitlin Killen, assistant clinical editor, and Alex Clabburn, senior editor, enlist the help of two experts to explore what the rise in immunotherapy treatment means for the ongoing care of cancer patients.Many thanks to Dharmisha Chauhan, lead genomic clinical pharmacist for North Thames Genomic Medicine Service Alliance and speci…

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NICE type 2 diabetes update: what do you need to know? 21:46

3+ y ago21:46

21:46

In this episode, assistant clinical editor Caitlin Killen, looks at the practical implications of a recent update to NICE guidance on diabetes treatment in adults, with the help of two experts.Many thanks to Michelle Lam, pharmacy team leader for education & training at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Sallianne Kavanagh, …

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Self-help for PH, anxiety & depression 32:47

3+ y ago32:47

32:47

PH can often go hand-in-hand with anxiety, but there are strategies and tools available to help. For this episode, we are joined by clinical psychologist Dr Gregg Rawlings to talk about the PHA UK resources that are currently available, and an important new study into coping as a carer. You can order 'Overcoming Worry & Anxiety', the self-help prog…

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Pharmacogenomic testing: coming to a community pharmacy near you 29:08

3+ y ago29:08

29:08

What if you could pop into your local pharmacy to get tested for how your genes affect the way you metabolise drugs, such as statins or antidepressants? In several countries, you can. Features editor Dawn Connelly travels to those countries and speaks with community pharmacists that are already providing this routinely. She starts by visiting the N…

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Celebrating your support 14:58

3+ y ago14:58

14:58

We've seen some amazing fundraising activity recently, and we're so grateful for the support that our community gives us to help us continue our work. We've dedicated this special episode to the kindness of our supporters, and we hope you enjoy hearing about some of the challenges, events, and donations that are making such a difference to our char…

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Myth-busting acute pain and its treatment 17:56

3+ y ago17:56

17:56

Which combination is most effective? Should I take this with food? The public often ask for advice on how to treat acute pain conditions, such as headaches, period pain or soft tissue injuries.At first glance, it may seem straightforward; however, there are some common misconceptions around the changing evidence in this area.In this episode, Caitli…

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Pandemic plus? The antibiotic resistance lurking in our rivers 19:13

4y ago19:13

19:13

In this episode, Carolyn Wickware, investigations editor, looks at the emerging evidence that UK rivers are becoming a dangerous ‘breeding ground’ for bacteria resistant to antibiotics that could adversely affect human health.Alistair Boxall, professor of environmental science at the University of York, describes his concerns over the level of anti…

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Healthcare in a war: The situation in Ukraine 15:07

4y ago15:07

15:07

For people with serious health conditions caught up in the conflict in Ukraine, the situation is desperate. On 18th March, we caught up with Dr Joanna Pepke-Zaba, a pulmonary hypertension expert with links to European efforts to get help to people affected by this disease. Dr Pepke-Zaba, who is based in Cambridge, joined us from a conference in Swi…

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Clinical Trials: Why your opinions matter 22:31

4y ago22:31

22:31

Important research into new treatments for pulmonary hypertension is happening all the time, and people living with the condition play a vital role in these studies. In this episode, we are joined by Cambridge researchers Joe Newman and Dr Mark Toshner, to talk about a promising new drug trial and how you can help shape its design by completing thi…

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HRT & pulmonary hypertension 15:06

4y ago15:06

15:06

In this special episode dedicated to a very important subject, we are joined by special guest Dr Neil Hamilton to talk about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and what women with PH need to consider when accessing it to reduce symptoms of the menopause. Neil also discusses the current proposal to make some types of HRT available without prescriptio…