You know when you buy a new car you are suddenly aware of all the cars on the road that are exactly like yours? I bought a silver Honda Civic when I got my first "real library job" and within that same week I spent 1/2 hour going up and down the mall parking lot looking at every silver Civic trying to find my car.

I wonder if the same principle is happening to me sine I just recently bought my iPod. I have known about podcasting but it wasn't until recently (after I bought an iPod) that I began to "discover" all of these medical podcast sites. I don't know if it is my recent purchase that opened my eyes or if there has been a recent rash of medical podcast sites springing up. But when I saw that McGraw-Hill's AccessMedicine is now offering a medical online service to launch free podcasts, I decided to try and come up with a list of sites offering podcasts for the medical professional.

For those unfamiliar with podcasts, they are audio files that you can download into your iPod or mp3 player. You need an podcast aggregator (similar concept to RSS aggregators) such as iTunes, iPodder, iPodderX, or MedReader in which you copy the podcast's feed link and paste it into the add feed or subscribe to podcast area of the podcast aggregator. Once the feed is added your iPod or mp3 player will download the audio program.

I looked specifically for sites that specialized in medical podcasts, there are some great science podcast sites that have medical topics every so often, however, I did not include them. I also briefly looked at iTunes podcast area and searched under Health to try and find some medical podcasts. But it generated a list of 257 programs, and sifting through obvious false hits such as Fetish Radio in the health section, just was too time consuming to deal with.
So here is what I found on the web (alphabetic order), warning this might be a long post.

ABC's Health Report http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/default.htm The Health Report produced by Australian Broadcasting Corporation national radio.

Primary audience: "specialist and mainstream audiences" Starting Date: August 2005

Recent podcasts programs include:

• Stress and Breast Cancer
• The link between gum disease (periodontitis) and heart disease
• Cox 2 Inhibitors: Non steroidal inflammatory medications
• Exercise and Genotype

Access Medicine http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/podcast/acm/ produced by McGraw-Hill. Plans to do weekly podcasts.

Primary audience: doctors Starting date: September 9, 2005

This is very new and as of September 16, 2005 has only one podcast, unfortunately there is no list of program topics. Additionally these podcasts often refer to accompanying slide presentations that are exclusive to paid subscribers to Access Medicine. So it may not be ideal for somebody who isn't at a computer to look at slides.

Future podcasts segments may include:

• Harrison's Grand Rounds are audio lectures, from world-renowned academic physicians, addressing key medical topics in internal medicine.
• Harrison's Updates are the latest, most important advances in medicine written by highly regarded academicians in the medical field.
• Hurst's the Heart Updates are examinations and reviews of the most recent cardiology news from medical journals written by distinguished medical physicians.
  

As Seen From Here http://www.asseenfromhere.com/ a CME-accredited ophthalmology podcast sponsored by the New York University School of Medicine weekly radio show program of interviews with recent authors of articles in ophthalmology peer-review journals.

Primary audience: Ophthalmologists Starting Date: March 2005

Recent podcasts programs include:

• Understanding Wavefront: a podcast special.
• CNV and Anti-VEGF Therapy (parts 1 and 2)
• Post-Operative Endophthalmitis: a population-based study
• Genetics and AMD

CTisus-Computed Tomography Podcast http://www.ctisus.com/ produced by the Advanced Medical Imaging Laboratory (AMIL). AMIL is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to research, education, and the advancement of patient care using medical imaging with a focus on spiral CT and 3D imaging. The AMIL is headed by Elliot K. Fishman, M.D., and includes several radiologists, a computer scientist, multimedia developer (Melissa Garland), a medical illustrator (Frank Corl), and a graphics assistant (Chris O'Keefe). The AMIL is part of the Department of Radiology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, MD. For a good list of podcast topics http://odeo.com/channel/7623/view/

Primary audience: Radiology and CT professionals Starting Date: July 2005

Recent podcasts programs include:

• Pancreatic Imaging
• Future Directions in Radiology
• Kidney Stones, Hematuria, and Beta Blockers
• Incidental Adrenal Mass

MedicineNet http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47344 presents Doctors On Health

Primary audience: doctors. Starting Date: May 2005 volume 1.

Podcast segments include:

• Health Beat - MedicineNet doctors will put the news in perspective and clarify the often conflicting issues presented by popular media.
• Monitoring Medicine - covers condition specific health trends and tips based on patient questions and concerns experienced in the daily practice of medicine.
• Research in Perspective - translates leading-edge research into valuable information you can use.
• Checking Your Pulse - MedicineNet doctors answer viewer questions and discuss important viewer comments.

SCCM Syndication iCritical Care http://www.sccm.org/publications/syndication/index.asp produced by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

Primary audience: critical care professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, etc.) Starting Date: ?

Recent podcasts include:

• Critical Care Pharmacists Bringing Unique Viewpoints to the Multiprofessional Team
• PICU Care of Children with Cancer
• The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) Advocacy Caucus
  

Sound Medicine http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/index.php4 is produced by the Indiana University School of Medicine and WFYI Public Radio. Contains searchable archives of their hour-long show.

Primary audience: general public Starting Date: 2001

Sound Medicine's podcast and RSS feed page can be tricky to find (http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/aboutRSS.php4) to get information on how to add it to your podcast aggregator such as iTunes.

Recent podcasts include:

• Hurricane Katrina Special Report
• Lung Sparing Approach to Treating Lung Cancer
• Herbal Medicine
• Deep Brain Stimulation
• Human Growth Hormone

SoundPractice.Net http://soundpractice.net/ produced by the Journal of Medical Practice Management.

Primary audience: doctors Starting date: May 2005

Podcast segments include:

• Financial Management: example of podcast programs: Financial Advice on Medical Building Construction, Time-of-Service Payment: Customer Service and Cash Management
• General Practice Management: example of podcast programs: Organizing Your Practice for Success: Vision Setting, Decision Making, Governance, and Communications, Negotiate Contracts Carefully With Part-time Doctors
• Healthcare Policy: example of podcast programs: The Importance of Private Practitioners in the Education of the Next Generation of Physicians, Discussion about HSAs and Consumer Driven Health
• Law and Medicine: example of podcast programs: Keeping Internal Chart Reviews from Being Used Against You: 11 Useful Strategies, Developing Personnel Policies to Keep You Out of the Courtroom: The Role of the Office Policy Manual
• Technology: example of podcast programs: Physician Use of E-mail, It's the Right Time to Move to the Electronic Health Record