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
9. Rebalancing medicine with Neal Maskrey
Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the Presqipp podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at Presqipp, talks to Professor Neal Maskrey about his new book, Rebalancing Medicine.
Neal was a GP in Yorkshire for 20 years and continues to work extensively supporting postgraduate training with GP Trainers and their registrars. He then worked for North Yorkshire Health Authority developing primary care, was an early editor of Clinical Evidence (BMJ Publications), and then spent 14 years as a director of the National Prescribing Centre and Programme Director of the Medicines and Prescribing Centre at NICE. He still has a chair as Visiting Professor of Evidence-informed decision making at Keele University where Jonathan and Neal still collaborate on innovative stuff on shared decision making such as us using avatars to allow people to hone their consultation skills with feedback in a safe space (as its a computer it doesn’t have any feelings – not yet they don’t anyway!)
Jonathan and Neal discuss what influenced him to write his book, what the key themes are as well as the sources, experiences and stories that influenced the writing. They then provide some food for thought as to the future of healthcare, what this means for NICE and other organisations, and how individual healthcare professionals can make sure they are prepared for the future.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
- Review of Rebalancing Medicine from Dr Richard Lehman
- How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman
- Era 3 for Medicine and Health Care by Don Berwick
- Youtube video of Keynote presentation of this
- Applying the time needed to treat to NICE guidelines on lifestyle interventions - Minna Johansson and colleagues
- Population-health impact of new drugs recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England during 2000–20: a retrospective analysis – Huseyin Naci et al.
Useful related resources from PrescQIPP:
Information Mastery face to face Workshops in March and April 2025
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