TEC: Evidence Based Therapeutics
Therapeutics Education Collaboration
Medication Mythbusters – Home of the Best Science (BS) Medicine Podcast

The BS Medicine Podcast episodes are presented by James McCormack and Michael Allan. We try to promote healthy skepticism and critical thinking and most of the podcasts are presented in a case-based approach. We also try to inject some humour into the whole process to make the learning more interesting. Occasionally we have great guests like Mike Kolber, Tina Korownyk and Bruce Arroll help us out.

Most podcast episodes are available for free until they become archived after about 1-2 months. Every 4th episode or so is a “New Studies You Need to Know About” podcast and these will only be available to our Premium Podcast members. Premium members will also be able to listen to all archived episodes since episode #1.

Episode 381: Poverty – the impact it has on health and what we can do about it

In episode 381, Mike and James invite Gary Bloch to talk in detail about the impact of poverty on health, and more importantly what can we do about it for our patients. In particular, we start to discuss a very useful clinical tool for dealing with poverty in primary care.

Show notes

1) Butler-Jones  D. Chief Public Health Officer’s report on the state of public health in Canada. Addressing health inequalities. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada; 2008. 

2) The Clinical Tool on Poverty

CFPC Poverty Tools

3) A novel income security intervention to address poverty in a primary care setting: a retrospective chart review

BMJ Open 2017;7:e014270

4) Building a Foundation to Reduce Health Inequities: Routine Collection of Sociodemographic Data in Primary Care. 

J Am Board Fam Med 2016;29:348-55

5) Framework for building primary care capacity to address the social determinants of health

Can Fam Physician 2017;63:e476-e482

6) What is the impact on individual health of services in general practice settings which offer welfare benefits advice?

Health Soc Care Community 2006;14:1–8

7) UK Social Prescribing – evidence 

8) Taking action on the social determinants of health in clinical practice: a framework for health professionals

CMAJ 2016;188:E474–83

Episode 380: Happy 10th Anniversary and a bunch of silly studies

In episode 380, James and Mike continue celebrating their 10th podcasting anniversary with Tina K and Mike K and the silly studies and confusion continue to escalate.

Show notes

1) A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index.

Am J Clin Nutr 2016;103:717–23

2) Commercial features of placebo and therapeutic efficacy

JAMA 2008;299:1016-7 

3) Gender Roles and Pressure to be Truthful: The Bogus Pipeline Modifies Gender Differences in Sexual but Not Non-sexual Behavior

Sex Roles 2013;68:401–14

4) Kissing reduces allergic skin wheal responses and plasma neurotrophin levels

Physiology & Behavior 2003;80:395– 8

5) Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food

Appl Environ Microbiol doi:10.1128/AEM.01838-16

6) Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments

J Pers Soc Psychol 1999;77:1121-34

7) Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review

Front Physiol 2016;7:246. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00246. eCollection 2016.

8) From junior to senior Pinocchio: A cross-sectional lifespan investigation of deception

Acta Psychol 2015;160:58-68

9) The Relationships Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size

Sexual Abuse 1993;6:231-5

10) Honey bee sting pain index by body location

PeerJ 2014;2:e338

11) Can Sexual Intercourse Be an Alternative Therapy for Distal Ureteral Stones? A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study.

Urology 2015;86:19-24

Evaluation of the efficacy of sexual intercourse in expulsion of distal ureteric stones.

Int Urol Nephrol 2017;49:27–30

12) The effect of acute increase in urge to void on cognitive function in healthy adults

Neurourology and Urodynamics 2011;30:183–7

Episode 379: Happy 10th Anniversary and a bunch of silly studies

In episode 379, James and Mike celebrate their 10th podcasting anniversary and bring in Tina K and Mike K to help alert the listeners to some exceedingly important studies that many listeners may have missed over the years.

Show notes

1) Beano and flatulence

J Fam Pract 1994 39:441-5

2) Mandatory Snack Consumption

Obesity 2007;15:673-85

3) CoQ10 changes CoQ10 levels

BioFactors 1999;9:315–8

4) Reusable shopping bags and food cross-contamination

Food Protection Trends 31:508-13

5) Length matters – am I normal?

BJU Int 2015;115:978–86

6) Country music and suicide

Social Forces 1992;71:211-8

7) Intractable Hiccups and DRM

Ann Emerg Med 1988;17:872

8) Women, men and thinking clearly

Arch Sex Behav 2012;41:1051–6

9) Alcohol and unprotected sex

Addiction 2012;107:51-9 

Episode 378: Antidepressants – lots of useful data but many important questions remain

In episode 378, James, Tina and Mike go over the latest antidepressant meta-analysis from the Lancet. We talk about the fact that antidepressants do work, but importantly, what does “work” mean. Most importantly, we talk about what questions about antidepressants are not answered by this meta-analysis. At the end we put everything (to do with antidepressants) into its proper context.

Show notes

1) Effectiveness of antidepressants

BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1073

2) Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Lancet. 2018 Feb 20. pii: S0140-6736(17)32802-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7

Episode 377: Getting higher than a kite with medical cannabinoid evidence – PART IV

In episode 377, Mike and James finally get to the end of looking at all the available cannabinoid evidence and we continue to discuss how the evidence could be used in the context of a shared-decision making process.

Show notes

Simplified guideline for prescribing medical cannabinoids in primary care 

Canadian Family Physician 2018;64:111-20

Cannabinoid short summary

Cannabinoid patient summary

Episode 376: Getting higher than a kite with medical cannabinoid evidence – PART III

In episode 376, Mike and James take all the best available evidence around cannabinoid use and put the evidence into the concept of a shared-decision making guideline. Shocking as it may seem, shared-decision making is rarely a part of most guidelines but we show how valuable it can be to keep this concept in focus when it comes to giving suggestions for the use of many treatments.

Show notes

Simplified guideline for prescribing medical cannabinoids in primary care 

Canadian Family Physician 2018;64:111-20

Cannabinoid short summary

Cannabinoid patient summary

Episode 375: Getting higher than a kite with medical cannabinoid evidence – PART II

In episode 375, Mike and James continue getting high on the evidence around medical cannabinoids. We talk about the adverse effects associated with medical cannabinoids and find out it is fairly impressive in not only the number of patients who get them but also the different kinds of side effects.

Show notes

Systematic review of systematic reviews for medical cannabinoids

Canadian Family Physician February 2018;64:e78-e94

Episode 374: Getting higher than a kite with medical cannabinoid evidence

In episode 374, Mike and James get high by delving into a systematic review of medical cannabinoids. We put a flame to the evidence, munch on all the data and get the giggles around what the evidence actually shows. The bottom line is, there is evidence for its use in pain, nausea and vomiting, and spasticity but the evidence is at best stoned.

Show notes

Systematic review of systematic reviews for medical cannabinoids

Canadian Family Physician February 2018;64:e78-e94

Episode 373: Back to listener questions – finally – PART III

In episode 373, Mike and James get back to the last of the listener questions. We talk about vaginal infections, statins (of course), diabetes, medical education, alcohol hand sanitizers and TPA yet again. As always, we leave everyone with more questions than before we started – you have to love healthcare.

See List of All Podcast Episodes

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The 2025 MEME Conference – May 9-10, 2025

REGISTRATION COMING SOON

Making Evidence Matter For Everyone | May 9-10, 2025
From the clinicians who brought you the Best Science Medicine Course and the Meds Conference, as well as the BS Medicine Podcast and Tools for Practice

hectalks.com

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

THE NUTRITION PROPOSITION BOOK

Check it out at nutritionproposition.com and think about picking up a copy on Amazon. All the evidence you ever wanted about nutrition and the only nutrition book that won’t tell you what to eat.

 

BedMed: The High Blood Pressure Study

This pragmatic trial is now recruiting in BC. Make a difference and get involved with pragmatic trials (www.pragmatictrials.ca)

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