Talking Meds - A PrescQIPP podcast
Engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas.
Talking Meds is hosted by Jonathan Underhill who, every two weeks, will chat to a fantastic guest about current medical issues and clinical dilemmas.
Jonathan has a background as a hospital clinical pharmacist but worked for many years at the National Prescribing Centre (NPC) developing innovative ways of teaching therapeutics, evidence-based medicine and clinical decision making to prescribers and their support teams. Until recently, he worked at NICE as a consultant clinical adviser in their Medicines Optimisation Team. He is now Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP.
Jonathan and his guests will discuss topics such as new guidance from NICE on menopause, asthma, depression deprescribing and insomnia; how to tackle penicillin allergy de-labelling.
There will also be a series on ’Sensible prescribing in Older people with Jonathan and Lucy’, with consultant geriatrician and author Lucy Pollock.
PrescQIPP is a Community Interest Company. We operate on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of NHS patients and organisations and help NHS organisations to improve medicines-related care to patients. Find out more here: https://www.prescqipp.info/
Talking Meds - A PrescQIPP podcast
7. Update to the NICE guideline on menopause with Hayley Berry
Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Hayley Berry about the update to the NICE Guideline on the identification and management of the menopause, published in November 2024.
Hayley has a background in community pharmacy and general practice and now works for CPPE at the University of Manchester as a Lead learning development pharmacist. As a pharmacist independent prescriber, she works at a private menopause clinic and was a member of the NICE Menopause guideline development committee.
Jonathan and Hayley discuss the important aspects of the update and touch on some of the somewhat controversial issues that surround this subject. The choice about whether to take HRT or not is a highly preference sensitive decision, where the values and preference of each woman needs to be taken into account. They discuss the various tools available to help facilitate those conversations, particularly the discussion tool published by NICE to accompany the guideline update, as well as the excellent GP Evidence website and the upcoming patient decision aid being developed by the Winton Centre.
They also discuss the research recommendations within the guideline, highlighting how relatively poor the existing evidence base is for the management of the menopause.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
NICE Guideline on Menopause: identification and management. NG 23 – updated November 2024
Tools from NICE to communicate the benefits and risks of HRT
GP Evidence has summarised the evidence on the benefits and risks of HRT for menopause.
NICE CKS Menopause topic (excellent for a quick summary of the guidance)
Useful related resources from PrescQIPP:
PrescQIPP Bulletin 299. Menopause
PrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass on 29th January 2025 on the NICE Menopause Guideline
A new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info
PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.
The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.
Find out more about PrescQIPP here