NICE lowers the treatment threshold for stage 1 hypertension in adults under 60
More patients will start medication earlier under the revised NG136. What the change means for your next hypertension clinic, and the one protocol line to update first.
MHRA licenses the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight management
Expect patient questions from Monday. Prescribing remains specialist-initiated for now, and the eligibility criteria are narrower than the headlines suggest.
Pholcodine cough medicines: licence withdrawal now complete across the UK
Check remaining stock and have an alternative ready at the counter. The anaesthesia cross-reactivity signal that drove the decision, in two paragraphs.
Draft NICE guideline on chronic kidney disease open for consultation until 14 November
No action yet, but the proposed eGFR monitoring intervals would change recall lists for most practices. We summarise what is in the draft and how to respond.
A live webinar series for each therapeutic area, focused on primary or secondary care. Independent, free to attend, and recorded, so you can watch in full or in short chapters.
Three minutes from the obesity series: understanding the condition, identifying the patients and identifying the risks. Each part is a chapter in the Obesity Learning Pathway.
Funded by an educational grant from [Company]. No input into content.
About Clinical Insights
Clinical Insights is the clinician-facing side of PCIP, the Pharmaceutical & Clinical Insights Platform. We make independent medical education for UK healthcare professionals, funded by educational grants, and every item traces to a primary source.
Nothing we make is used once. Each live webinar is recorded, cut into short chapters for learning pathways, and written up as a one-page practical sheet. Watch it in full, learn it in parts, or read it in two minutes.
Webinars
A live series for each therapeutic area, focused on primary or secondary care.
Learning pathways
Recordings cut into short chapters and built into pathways, starting with obesity.
Practical sheets
Each session on one page you can use in clinic, sent with the newsletter.
Meetings
Meetings and conferences for clinicians, sponsorship-funded and labelled as such.
This week
Hypertension thresholds move, the first oral GLP-1 lands, and pholcodine is finally gone.
Four changes this week that touch primary care. Six minutes. Issue 01, Thursday 8 October 2026.
Check remaining stock. Advise patients on alternatives at the pharmacy counter.
MHRA Drug Safety Update · 1 Oct 2026
Watch
Draft NICE guideline on chronic kidney disease open for consultation until 14 November.
No action yet. We will cover the final guideline when it publishes.
NICE consultation · Closes 14 Nov 2026
Changed
Adult asthma: MART becomes the default maintenance and reliever approach.
SABA-only treatment is no longer recommended. Review inhaler plans at the next asthma check.
NICE NG245 · 24 Sep 2026
New
Shingles vaccine eligibility extends to a further age cohort from October.
Update call-and-recall searches. Newly eligible patients can be vaccinated opportunistically.
UKHSA Green Book · 22 Sep 2026
Changed
Valproate: two specialists must now sign off new prescriptions in under-55s.
Pharmacy teams should check for the annual risk acknowledgement form before dispensing.
MHRA Drug Safety Update · 18 Sep 2026
Watch
Draft guidance on hyperbolic SSRI tapering published for comment.
No action yet. Expect slower taper schedules to become the recommended standard.
NICE consultation · Closes 30 Oct 2026
Changed
NICE lowers the treatment threshold for stage 1 hypertension in adults under 60.
More patients start medication earlier. Review your practice protocol before the next hypertension clinic.
NICE NG136 · 2 Oct 2026
New
MHRA licenses the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight management.
Expect patient questions from Monday. Prescribing remains specialist-initiated for now.
MHRA · 30 Sep 2026
What clinicians say
Dr Helen OkaforGP partner, Leeds
The obesity pathway gave our whole practice team the same starting point, in chapters short enough to finish between clinics.
Priya ShahAdvanced clinical pharmacist, Manchester
The practical sheets are the only handouts I keep. One page, the evidence linked, ready for the next consultation.
Dr Tom AdeyemiConsultant physician, Sheffield
The live sessions answer the questions we actually get asked. When I miss one, the recording is there the next morning.
Dr Helen OkaforGP partner, Leeds
The obesity pathway gave our whole practice team the same starting point, in chapters short enough to finish between clinics.
The sources we teach from
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The newsletter is free for UK healthcare professionals. A practical sheet from every webinar, the changes that matter in clinical practice, and the next sessions to join.