Medical

Mental Health: Patients with schizophrenia want the same things we want in life, they want to return back to life, having a sense of purpose, being able to have their symptoms improve, where they can go back to having relationships with those around them. How do we achieve this post-discharge from hospital?

Chronic Conditions: Blood pressure is the single most important risk factor for CV risk. If we lower blood pressure, we can reduce that risk. So is close good enough, or do we need to be more aggressive in our treatment?  In this interview we discuss why the management of blood pressure can be such a challenge.

Vitamin D, part 2 of a 3 part series – Childhood & Adolescence. Optimising bone mass during growth is an essential step to prevent osteoporosis later in life. Around 25-40% of adult bone mineral is accrued during the two years around puberty, which is equivalent to the amount of bone loss from the age of 50 to 80 years. Listen to learn more!

Allergic Rhinitis miniseries, Part 1: We have a large burden of allergic rhinitis in Australia, which can significantly affect quality of life.  Allergic disease can affect the lungs, ears, nose and throat, it can affect people’s workplace productivity, absenteeism and asthma control. Patients can sometimes trivialise this disease and there is a high rate of self-treatment, so how can we help our patients to get the right treatment?

Allergic Rhinitis miniseries, Part 2: Allergic rhinitis is not something which should simply just be managed over the counter in the pharmacy. Making the correct diagnosis is essential . Not all rhinitis is allergic and not everything that happens in the nose is a simple allergy – so listen to learn more.

Men’s Health: Testosterone deficiency is a common condition, more common than we would imagine. It’s important to consider it and test for it in certain populations of patients. In this interview we discuss both the short and long-term effects of treatment, potential side effects and prescribing guidelines.

Hormone Therapy: The use of menopause hormonal therapy, or MHT as we now call it, decreased due to fears of breast cancer and a lot of scepticism about the cardiovascular benefits. In this interview we provide clear guidance on the potential risks and benefits, plus the treatment options now available.

This audio file contains all 7 interviews on this edition.

• Track 1, Navigating treatment choice for patients with schizophrenia in the primary care setting
• Track 2, The silent killer… Never forget blood pressure
• Track 3, Vitamin D: The first 2 decades of life: A window of opportunity to maximise the bone bank
• Track 4, Allergic Rhinitis Miniseries, Part 1: The real burden of allergic rhinitis
• Track 5, Allergic Rhinitis Miniseries, Part 2: The role of the GP in managing allergic rhinitis
• Track 6, Are there long-term benefits to treating hypogonadism?
• Track 7, MHT is the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms, but when, which and for how long?

To view reference lists or product information please go to the individual tracks.

Respiratory feature interview. When we ask our patients ‘how are things with your asthma’ and the patient says ‘fine’, that may or may not mean that things are going well. There are some really important directed questions that GP’s can ask patients, asking them about disturbed sleep, restriction of activities, how often they are using their reliever inhaler etc. Patients taking regular treatment may still be experiencing quite a large symptom burden, so listen to this extended interview to learn more…

Australians who are 65 or over may not consider themselves to be older Australians, and may not understand that once they reach 65 the risk of developing pneumococcal disease increases significantly. As the flu season approaches, it’s an ideal opportunity to talk to patients about concomitant vaccination against pneumococcal disease.