BMJ Group pandemic flu podcasts

Only a third of elderly patients who died in UK hospitals within 30 days of undergoing surgery were considered to have received good care, according to a report this week by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD). Report author Ian Martin talks about the findings, and how things might be improved. Also, the BMJ has chosen Save the Children as its 2010 Christmas charity. Save the Children’s chief executive Justin Forsyth explains how the money you donate will support child survival projects in countries such as Sudan, Sierra Leone, and India. You can add to the appeal here.

In this week’s podcast we find out about drug resistance in tuberculous meningitis, and hear about a debate regarding patient consent for blood transfusion. Also Helen Morant joins Ed Davies to discuss the latest news from the world of medicine

A new NCEPOD report into deaths related to cancer therapy has found that in 27% of deaths after chemotherapy, the drugs either caused or hastened the death of the patient. Science journalist Sue Mayor interviews oncologist Diana Mort, an author of the report, about the findings.

2008 is drawing to a close, so we have asked Jeremy Laurance, health editor of the Independent, to take us through his top medical stories of the year. Rebecca Coombes canvassed the BMJ’s Christmas party to find out what could be in store for us in 2009, and Trish Groves explains why some research in the BMJ print edition will look a bit different from now on. The full version of the research, and the video, mentioned in the podcast can be found here, and the new BMJ pico version can be found here.

This is a bumper podcast, filled with festive goodness from the BMJ’s ever popular Christmas issue. We find out about “ghosts” on Mount Everest, why things don’t necessarily go better with coke, and investigate the medicinal uses of frankincense. Also this Christmas, we have a video for you - was Dickens right about Oliver Twist’s diet? Find out in “Please, sir, I want some more“. This is the first of our new weekly podcasts, from now on we’ll be bringing you a selection of news, interviews and cutting edge research from the world of medicine. To make sure you don’t miss out on anything, use the “subscribe” button above.

This week’s BMJ podcast contains interviews with the authors of 2 research papers. Firstly, Ian Colman, assistant professor of public health at the University of Alberta, talks about a longitudinal study that examines outcomes of conduct problems in adolescence. You can read the full research paper here. There is also an interview with Professor Alastair Gray, from Oxford University, lead author of a paper that looks at lung cancer deaths from indoor radon and the cost effectiveness and potential of policies to reduce them. You can read this paper here.

Next week, Senator Barack Obama becomes President Barack Obama - so what does his new administration have in store for health care in America? Our correspondent in Washington, Vidhya Alakeson, talks to Deb Cohen about Obama’s plans; health economist Gail Wilensky explains why he could have some problems containing costs; and finally Archives of Disease in Childhood editor and paediatrician, Howard Bauchner, muses on the philosophy of health care.

This week, Birte Twisselmann takes us through the medical news. The research this week is into postnatal depression; one of the BMJ’s deputy editors, Trish Groves interviews the author of a new study into effective ways to treat this common condition.

In this week’s podcast, BMJ editor Fiona Godlee interviews Andrew Dillon, chief executive of the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to mark NICE’s 10th anniversary later this year. Deborah Cohen talks to the authors of a recent Head to Head debate to find out if NICE’s threshold range of cost per quality adjusted life year (QUALY) should be raised. And Trevor Jackson highlights his favourite recent BMJ articles. The full Andrew Dillon interview can be downloaded here, and the Head to Head on “Should NICE’s threshold range for cost per QALY be raised?” can be downloaded here.

A report from the Royal College of Physicians calls for a rethink of the relationship between the medical community and the pharma industry. Tessa Richards and Jane Smith interview key players in the debate, to accompany a cluster of analysis articles and an online poll, while Annabel Ferriman and David Payne talk about the latest news.

This week, Deborah Cohen talks to freelance journalist and former Times health editor Nigel Hawkes about what’s caught his eye in the news, and to Ross Wilson, who brings us up to date on ways to improve patient safety. Also, Helen MacDonald finds what is foremost on a junior doctor’s mind when asking for help. The International Forum on Quality and Safety that Ross mentioned is run by the BMJ and will take place in Berlin from 17th -20th of March, we’ll be bringing you a podcast from there at the time.

Voting for the 10 candidates shortlisted for the BMJ Group’s lifetime achievement award ends on 27 February 2009. They were chosen by a BMJ panel on the basis of who had made a unique and substantial contribution to improving health care. Still not sure who to vote for? Listen to this podcast, which features interviews with supporters of the shortlisted candidates. To cast your vote or to find out more, visit BMJ Group lifetime achievement awards page.

UK reality TV star Jade Goody is facing death from cervical cancer. To accompany Jane Cassidy’s BMJ article, Professor Jane Maher, a consultant clinical oncologist and Macmillan Cancer Support’s chief medical officer, talks about how the media coverage ha

Richard Hurley talks to Bob Roehr and Jay P Brooks about whether men who have sex with men should be allowed to donate blood. He also explores why why some - but by no means all - developed countries now accept blood donations from men who have ever had s

It has been 10 years since the whistle was blown on Harold Shipman, and Zosia Kmietowicz finds out how Britain’s most prolific serial killer precipitated a change in patient records in his old practice. Also, Birte Twisselmann takes us through the news.