Purple Pen Podcast

We're marking World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week 2025 with an episode dedicated entirely to antibiotics, the medicines we rely on every day and the ones we need to protect. We're joined by Caroline Chen, a senior antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist and project officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, for a deep dive into all things antibiotics. Together, we walk through the ABCs of commonly used antibiotics, or more accurately the B through T, including beta-lactams, clindamycin, doxycycline, macrolides, metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, quinolones, rifampicin and trimethoprim. This episode highlights how these medicines work and when we use them and key counselling points. Antibiotics are a finite resource, and understanding them is one of the most powerful tools we have to preserve their effectiveness for the future.

Listen in as Kristin chats with Dr Angela Kwong, a Sydney-based General Practitioner with a special interest in medically supervised weight management, about the use of GLP-1 agonists. Dr Kwong serves as the NSW State Lead for the RACGP Specific Interests Group in Obesity Management and works closely with colleagues across disciplines to improve care for people living with obesity. She is also the founder of Enlighten Me, a multidisciplinary online program that provides evidence-based, GP-led support for patients seeking weight management. The program has been recognised for its contribution to patient education and its focus on accessible, stigma-free care. Additional GLP-1 reading: 1. GLP-1 agonist role in renal protection - FLOW Trial 1a. Digestible summary of the FLOW trial 2. Current ANZCA guidelines for anaesthesia / sedation in patients using GLP-1 agonists (May 2025) 3. Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity

We talk with Prof Pete Smith, an allergist from Queensland about Why rhinitis shouldn’t be sneezed at (sorry we had to), including the consequences of allergic rhinitis being un/undertreated The recommended method to use intranasal sprays - hint “if you can taste it, you’re wasting it” How to discuss concerns patients might have about intranasal corticosteroids The long list of potential triggers of nonallergic rhinitis What are the red flag symptoms of rhinitis?   Some further reading: Nonallergic Rhinopathy: A Comprehensive Review of Classification, Diagnosis, and Treatment. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice, S2213-2198(24)00270-8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.03.009  Itch Beyond the Skin-Mucosal Itch. Front Allergy. 2021;2:700368. Published 2021 Oct 28. https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2021.700368   Characteristics of nonallergic vasomotor rhinitis. World Allergy Organ J. 2009 Jun 15;2(6):102-5. https://doi.org/10.1097/wox.0b013e3181a8e389  Aller

Listen in to round out our conversation about anticoagulation, by hearing from two Anticoagulation Stewardship Pharmacists - Hadley Bortz from the Alfred in Melbourne and Julianne Chong from Concord Hospital. Find out more about ACS programs in Australia and overseas and the benefits that these programs can bring to your health service. Anticoagulant patient care plan Anticoagulation Forum Advancing Anticoagulation Stewardship: A Playbook CATAG Medicines Stewardship Toolkit 

Join us as we talk with Prof Prash Sanders about the role of anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), learn when patients should be screened for AF, how to perform a stroke risk assessment and strategies to reduce the risk of bleeding.  This podcast is in collaboration with Medcast and the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance, a provider of health professional education in Australia focused on the quality use of medicines. Check out their resources here. Clinical guide: Anticoagulant management for AF Anticoagulant patient care plan Prof Prash Sanders is a cardiologist and electrophysiologist with a focus on heart rhythm disorders, particularly atrial fibrillation. He graduated with Honours from the University of Adelaide and completed advanced training in Melbourne and Bordeaux, France, earning national and international recognition for his research and clinical expertise. He is the Clinical Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and holds the Knapman – National

Naloxone has been available in Australia without prescription since 2022 (after pilot programs through 2019-2021, analysis showed this trial saved 3 lives per day). Join us as Kristin and Nat talk naloxone with Pharmacist Emily Turkovic. Emily shares her personal story and why she is passionate about ensuring that naloxone is widely available in our community. Listen in for tips and tricks on how to broach the subject with patients and ways to de-stigmatise naloxone. Resources: Opioid Safety Toolkit Free Take Home Naloxone training program Find out more about the Take Home Naloxone program here. Take Home Naloxone Program Resources

Listen in as Kristin chats with Dr Ian Heslop about the health care needs of travellers, covering topics such as traveller’s diarrhoea, altitude sickness and more. Listen until the end to find out what Ian brings in his travel medicine kit! Ian is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle and has a strong background in Hospital Pharmacy and in academia. He was involved in the establishment of the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at James Cook University in Townsville - and whilst teaching at JCU, he completed his doctorate in travel health.

Listen in to our latest episode as Kristin chats with Chelsea Felkai about being a healthcare provider for patients with intellectual disability. Chelsea is a community pharmacist who is completing her PhD at the University of Newcastle. You can find resources relating to the provision of inclusive healthcare and the NSQHS Standards User Guide for the Health Care of People with Intellectual Disability that Chelsea refers to in the podcast here. Other resources include: PSA Medicine safety: disability care report https://www.psa.org.au/advocacy/working-for-our-profession/medicine-safety/disability-care/  Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care - https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/intellectual-disability-and-inclusive-health-care  Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031 - https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/ads/strategy  NDIS - https://www.ndis.gov.au/ NDIS – Consumables - https://ourguidelines.ndis.gov.au/would-we-fund-it/consumables  Guardianship Division - htt

Join Natalie as she chats with Dermatologist A/Prof Deshan Sebaratnam about the management of acne. Listen in as they chat about over the counter treatment options, what may have changed in acne management and the effectiveness of isotretenoin. A/Prof Sebaratnam, in addition to his private practice, as a specialist dermatologist at Liverpool and Dubbo Base Hospitals in NSW.

Tune in as Dr Sayontonee Ghosh gives an overview of TB including: Transmission  Diagnosis  Screening Symptoms  Treatment options 

Did you know that PPIs are one of the most commonly prescribed medications in Australia according to PBS data? Join Kristin for a deep dive into proton pump inhibitors as she chats with Gastroenterologist, Hepatologist and Gastrointestinal endoscopist, Dr Kostas Brooks. What dose PPIs should patients actually be taking? How do you manage rebound symptoms? Listen in to find out.

Join Kristin as she chats with Dr Gaurav Sutrave to chat about emergening treatments for fungal infections.  Gaurav is a Staff Specialist Haematologist and Transplant and Cell Therapies Physician at Westmead Hospital, as well as the Medical Director for the Westmead T cell Therapies Laboratory.

Join Kristin and Nat as they chat with Shaylee Mills, The Rural Pharmacist. Shaylee works in the beautiful Pilbara region of WA - google it - the scenery is spectacular! Although it is at least 17 hours drive from the nearest capital city (Perth) - Karratha is far from a small town and is home to around 22000 people. Shaylee shares what her world as a pharmacist looks like and some of the benefits (and challenges) of working rurally. You can find Shaylee here and don’t forget to give Purple Pen a follow too!

Check out our latest episode as Kristin and Nat chat with Dr Jeremy McAnulty about the work undertaken by Public Health Units. If you are from NSW, you may remember Dr McAnulty from the daily televised COVID updates  - Dr Jeremy McAnulty is a public health physician and Executive Director of Health Protection NSW at NSW Health, overseeing the statewide public health aspects of communicable disease control and environmental health. From 2020 to 2022 he headed NSW Health’s COVID Public Health Response Branch.

Join Kristin for a deep dive into meningococcal disease with Dr Anita Campbell.  Learn more about the various strains of meningococcal and their prevalence patterns in Australia and how that might impact the way we think about vaccination for meningococcal, using Men B as an example. Dr Anita Campbell is a clinician researcher working as a paediatric infectious disease specialist and medical lead of the Stan Perron Immunisation service at Perth Children’s Hospital.

Join us for a very special World Pharmacist Day edition of the Purple Pen Podcast.  Recorded live during pharmacy wellbeing week at Monash Health, Nat & Kristin reconnect with Jane Booth and Karlee Johnston to talk about Pharmacist Wellbeing.  We explore the concepts of empathy, vulnerability, burnout and restorative supervision. Our guest, Dr Karlee Johnston, is a clinical pharmacist with extensive experience in critical care and winner of the SHPA - Australian Clinical Pharmacy award in 2023. Karlee’s PhD focused on the experiences of Australian pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific interest in burnout in this cohort. Following from this research Karlee has continued to research burnout and possible interventions to better support healthcare professionals in their work.

Join Kristin as she chats with Rebekah Moles about fever. Rebekah is an Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice at the University of Sydney and she is passionate about quality use of medicines in paediatric patients. She has conducted research on the management of common ailments such as fever and cough/cold in young patients.

Join us as we talk with Dr David Liew about the underappreciated condition of gout, dispell some myths and talk about what's changed in recommendations.  This podcast is in collaboration with Medcast and the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance, a provider of health professional education in Australia focused on the quality use of medicines. Check out their resources here.  Arthritis Australia have further information on gout here. The 2015 study by Philip C Robinson is here An Observational Study of Gout Prevalence and Quality of Care in a National Australian General Practice Population 

Kristin is joined by Professor Sanjay Swaminathan to talk all things MABs or monoclonal antibodies. Dr Sanjay Swaminathan is a Clinical Immunologist and Allergist, he is a Senior Staff Specialist and Head of the Department of Immunology and Allergy at Westmead and Blacktown Hospitals.

Prof Asha Bowen is back to discuss Impetigo (also known as school sores), an infection of the skin caused by bacteria. Observational studies over four decades in northern Australia have found that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in remote communities have the highest burden of impetigo worldwide. Prof Asha Bowen is a paediatric infectious disease specialist and clinician-researcher at Perth Children’s Hospital and Telethon Kids Institute. She is Head of Department of Infectious Diseases at Perth Children’s Hospital. National Healthy Skin Guidelines can be found here