8.3 Brian MacKenna - In God we Trust : All Others Must Bring Data

Data - it’s mentioned in the new NHS 10 year Health Plan 178 times! As healthcare continues to evolve, the ability to turn data into insight — and insight into better prescribing — has never been more important.

In this episode, we’re joined by Brian McKenna, Director of Research and NHS Service Analytics at the Bennett Institute, University of Oxford, to discuss how we can get better at data. We explore the world of “Open Prescribing” , a web resource,  and its impact on medicine use and safety.We dive into the history of prescribing data (who remembers the National Prescribing Centre?!) and discuss the delicate balance between using data for improvement and using it for performance management.

We continue this topic in our Micro Discussion when we look at a paper testing if unsolicited feedback, based on real data and supported by behavioural change science, can improve Antibiotic prescribing? https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaa128 We also mention this paper “Bringing NHS Data into the 21st Century” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0141076820930666 by Dr Ben Goldacre et al.

And talking of Ben Goldacre, join us at the 2025 Bennett Institute Medicines Symposium where he will be our special guest at our next live show! https://www.bennett.ox.ac.uk/events/2025-bennett-institute-medicines-symposium/

As with all of our guests, Brian shares with us his Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life.

BONUS CONTENT - Serendipity and Sulfasalazine!Here the story of how Brian, after hearing Wasim Baqir’s Desert Island Drug in Episode 4.6,  went on to develop a tool in https://openprescribing.net/  to identify and prevent sound-a-like errors occurring in the future! https://www.theauralapothecary.com/p/bonus-material/

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From Prescription to Ocean — A TEDx Talk by Jamie HayesWe’re incredibly proud to share that Aural Apothecary co-host Jamie Hayes has taken to the TEDx stage with a thought-provoking talk:  Prescription to Ocean: The Hidden Impact of Medicineshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swCLNaAG5qYJamie explores a fascinating and urgent question: What happens to our medicines once they leave the prescription pad — and how do they impact the world beyond the patient? It’s a journey that connects healthcare, the environment, and our shared responsibility for the future. You’ll never think about prescribing (or taking) medicines in quite the same way again.Please take a few minutes to watch, reflect, and share — this is a conversation worth having.