How to think about... summary statistics ("long" version)

How do we think about how confident we are in our opinions and recommendations? What can we apply from GRADE principles to our own thinking about the evidence base?

How does a newspaper article based on a scientific paper compare to the paper itself, and how can you spot when you need to be a bit more skeptical about what you're being told? Today, we're looking at an article on the link between antenatal steroids and autism, then looking at the underlying paper to see if it actually says the same thing. Definitely worth 8 minutes of your time!

To tie in with the 50th annual UKMi conference in Cardiff, which itself ties in with the 50th anniversary of UKMi, here's a re-run of an episode from the archive - what's the point of Medicines Information Services? With an introduction by podcast super-fan Hannah (thanks Hannah - you've done a disturbingly good job and may now need to record all future podcasts) what's not to like? Enjoy!

Sadly, the podcast has had to part ways with Ollie and his jingle - the demands for royalties were becoming just too much. But let's not let that hold us back from talking about NICE and what the point of it is. To celebrate the thousandth technology appraisal a couple of months ago, here's a quick summary of why we quite like NICE, despite its necessary limitations

Royalty payments are still going to Ollie for his fantastic jingles, but aside from that, this time out we're looking at AI - ChatGPT and the like - and what its role might be. AI is allegedly the future, but is the future here now? Well, not to ruin the podcast, but no. But it is still interesting - surely you can spare 8-ish minutes of your life to find out why it's not quite there yet, and why it might not be a good idea to rely on it to answer your medicines related questions. Keep employing your friendly pharmacy medicines nerds!

Ever wondered what the point of pharmacy is? Ever wanted to know how long someone can talk about the history of pharmacy for? Well wait no longer - turns out it's just over 14 minutes. An extended edition to kick off the new set of podcasts!

For those who can't even spare 8 minutes, this podcast clocks in just north of 5. How can we explain what the different summary statistics actually mean?

Coming in at nearly 10 minutes, this is the long version of the summary statistics podcast. What are they, why do we like certain ones over others, and how do they behave?

With the world imploding and the climate crisis emerging, what role does pharmacy and medicines have in the area? And more importantly, what can we do as individuals working in the area to make things better and make a difference?

Of all the many conundrums of hospital pharmacy, this is possibly one of the greatest - why are most of them designed with terrible offices and no windows? Just in time for your summer holiday, this is the pharmacy / architecture crossover podcast episode you never knew you needed but now can't live without. Covering Florence Nightingale, germ theory, the birth of the NHS, the Linstead and Noel Hall reports, plus the omnipresent and omni-malevolent Toyota method, this is a whistle stop tour through pharmacy history to try to explain this most puzzling fact.