Ola Howell

Happy World Pharmacist Day 💊

An absolute goldmine of health and mortality data 📊

Well done to all involved in this.

AI medical tools downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities Large language models reflect biases that can lead to inferior healthcare advice to female, Black and Asian patients

AI medical tools downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities - on.ft.com/3IuZ5qz via @FT

Is a lack of protected learning time holding back hospital pharmacists’ career development? “Protected learning time is essential for pharmacists to keep their skills up to date and deliver the best care for patients,” says Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society…

Analysis of exclusive data by #ThePJ has revealed that one in four #NHS trusts and health boards does not offer protected time as part of job plans for pharmacists.

Here, #SophieWillis investigates whether or not trusts are preventing pharmacists from progressing in their careers

UK doctors guilty of sexual misconduct are not being struck off, research finds Analysis reveals 24% of guilty doctors handed suspensions but are allowed to keep working in medicine

Of 46 proven cases of sexual misconduct from one year (Aug ‘23-Aug ‘24):

ALL perpetrators were male doctors and over 80% held a position of authority.

Another example from 2025: 12-month practice suspension for proven rape because it was deemed a “one-off event”.

Is this for real?! 🤯

Why science needs outsiders - Works in Progress Magazine Science has forgotten that the greatest breakthroughs often come from outsiders who are able to take a fresh perspective.

Fun article about “outsider” scientists and their breakthroughs.

“Academia filters most funding, publishing, and hiring decisions through senior insiders, which favors ideas within existing paradigms.”

worksinprogress.co/issue/why-sc...

Dawn of A New Era of Primary Prevention in Medicine Recent groundbreaking reports highlight our newfound potential to prevent diseases

A groundbreaking paper published @nature.com today—the first large health language model—predicts >1,000 diseases for a person and when.
Implications here:
erictopol.substack.com/p/dawn-of-a-...

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???

This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.

The moment of a Russian UAV strike on Kharkiv today. The Russians hit the building of the National University of Pharmacy.

Come and join us at our 2025 Innovation day in Bristol! You can expect...
👑 Top class speakers
🥳 Networking opportunities
🖼️ Poster sessions
🛠️ Workshops
🍱 Lunch!!!
See our full speaker line up and book your free place now www.bath.ac.uk/events/south...

Can Ireland’s ‘Sláintecare’ be a model for community care in the UK? Irish government’s push to reduce hospital admissions drives down treatment waiting lists

Our new research published today sets out the valuable lessons we can learn from other countries' efforts to shift care from hospital to community.

@sjanereed.bsky.social spoke to @financialtimes.com about Ireland's reform plans. 👇

Excellent, insightful write up on the issues surrounding learning difficulties and ADHD diagnoses, and more. Thank you @bennewmark.bsky.social for sharing your experience and perspective. I very much enjoyed reading this and learned a lot.

And thanks @sarahjpharm.pharmsky.app for sharing the post💚

An ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century) is one who loves to give their opinion, at length, on matters they know nothing about.

Amazing woman and the co-founder of the University I graduated from 🤓

Doctors and drug developers who first saw scans from a new targeted form of radiotherapy were amazed. For some patients in the clinical trial, Novartis’ radioligand therapy had — in just six months — completely cleared cancer that had spread around their bodies. on.ft.com/462deTZ

The Americans moving to wartime Russia for ‘traditional values’ Moscow promotes visa scheme aimed at those disaffected by western society

Farewell 👋 and please PLEASE take your friends with you to this new milk and honey land 🫠

“…Russia’s “traditional values” were a natural draw for people, and a reason he chose to stay — as well as feeling freer in Russia to air his views.” 🤡

A very important caveat to the "AI stethoscope" that was completely ignored by many news outlets.

Yet a high false positive rate can make a screening tool more harmful than useful.

How can we encourage health journalists to be more critical of AI press releases?

Cc @mgtmccartney.bsky.social

*stares in academia*

Countries on track to eliminate cervical cancer:

-Australia by 2028
-Sweden by 2027
-Rwanda by 2030
-UK by 2040
-Indonesia by 2030
-Bhutan 2030
-El Salvador by 2030
-Canada by 2040

How? HPV vaccine. Same one RFK Jr is trying to ban.

You will note USA is not on this list.

Forwarding this week’s motivation, sent to me by my husband. Apparently I had sent it to him 4 years ago (and it worked). You’re welcome

@rpharms.com is holding “strategy engagement events” as part of its preparation to transition into a Royal College. There will be events for members, students, public and Pharmaceutical scientists

Details in link below (as well as a comprehensive faq)

#PharmSky

www.rpharms.com/royalcollege

Separated Bike Lanes Means Safer Streets, Study Says — Streetsblog USA Cities that build protected lanes for cyclists end up with safer roads for people on bikes and people in cars and on foot, a new study of 12 large metropolises revealed Wednesday.

Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users.

ALL ROAD USERS.

And painted bike-lanes? No safety improvement at all.

For sharrows, it’s actually safer to NOT have them.

Via @usa.streetsblog.org @nyc.streetsblog.org

NEW:

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about rising graduate unemployment.

I dug a little closer and a striking story emerged:

Unemployment is climbing among young graduate *men*, but college-educated young women are generally doing okay.

www.ft.com/content/a9ea...

I guess this is what we're going to have to get used to...

NHS Worker (and British citizen of Filipino origin) with 15 years of service abused whilst walking with her family in W Yorkshire. She's leaving the country and I'm sorry.

The tone from the top is always heard at the bottom.

Look at Cornwall, my previous home of 7 years, tightly surrounded by shit 🤢😧💔

Vaccine warning for England as one in five children start school unprotected Experts say country needs ‘wake up call’ with levels far below those needed for herd immunity

This is sadly not surprising and should not be separated from the rise of extremism, distrust and misinformation across a range of social media platforms (as well as in some legacy media outlets) since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kennedy would be less hazardous if he decided to do cardiac surgery. Then he would kill people only one at a time rather than his current ability to kill by the thousands. Why is it that killing a single person is seen as murder but killing masses is excused if you are a politician?”

Dr Bill Foege

Safety and space at risk as SUVs reach 30% of car market in English cities, researchers warn Campaigners call for Paris-style parking charges amid fears big vehicles are taking up excessive public space

Local and national governments should act to stop the spread of these oversized cars. As Anna Goodman says:

“This has important implications for congestion, public space and road safety. The evidence is clear that SUVs increase road danger for people walking and cycling, particularly for children”

Extend medicines responsibilities for allied health professions This consultation seeks views on extending medicines responsibilities for paramedics, physiotherapists, operating department practitioners and diagnostic radiographers.

UK government public consultation open for feedback on the new proposal extending the list of meds (including controlled drugs) prescribable by paramedics, physios and other practitioners.

Deadline: 28th Oct 2025.

UK-only respondents.