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Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Pharmacotherapy School of Pharmacy University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| Edited by Rosemary R Berardi PharmD, Edward M DeSimone II MS
PhD, Gail D Newton PhD RPh, Michael A Oszko PharmD BCPS, Nicholas G Popovich
PhD, Carol J Rollins MS RD PharmD BCNSP, Leslie A Shimp PharmD MS, and Karen J
Tietze PharmD. Published by the American Pharmaceutical Association,
Washington, DC, 2002. ISBN 1-58212-037-4. Clothbound, xviii + 1190 pp. (28
x 22 cm), $135.
www.pharmacist.com
|
www.theannals.com, DOI
The book contains 11 sections according to general organ system topics. Each section is further subdivided into chapters, total of 48, with each chapter presenting an outline describing the contents. Authors adhere to chapter outlines with a discussion of anatomy, epidemiology, pathophysiology, etiology, and clinical manifestations of the disorder. These sections are followed by an extensive discussion of nonprescription product ingredients, nondrug treatment options, and preventive measures, and by separate sections on herbal and homeopathic remedies. Following this treatment information are sections on patient assessment, patient counseling points, and monitoring of therapeutics outcomes.
The book covers its assigned topics pretty exhaustively. Its therapeutic recommendations are relatively conservative and strongly evidence based. Almost all the tables are helpful. However, the product tables are somewhat dated by the time the book is published, as the nonprescription drug industry continuously changes many product line items. The algorithms included in some chapters are informative and educational, but they are too detailed to follow step-by-step in "real life" community pharmacy practice. They certainly are helpful as educational tools. The patient education boxes also serve as excellent teaching tools. The book does an excellent job demonstrating administration techniques of different products, but some very common techniques are missing, for example, nose drops and sprays. Although some chapters do mention special considerations regarding nonprescription drug use in children, older adults, pregnant women, and nursing mothers, it would be especially helpful to have specific sections dedicated to these unique populations.
Topics covered in the text are appropriate with few exceptions. Some very common illnesses, such as asthma, are treated primarily with prescription medications. Such disease states are best covered in a therapeutics text. The Handbook adds little additional information about treatment of asthma, but it does provide insight about proper administration techniques and counseling points. Therapeutics textbooks do a better job presenting comprehensive clinical practice guidelines. The asthma chapter would be more valuable if it included information on high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA), allergy bedding, and humidifiers. Diabetes also has a place in this textbook, but its value would be increased with the inclusion of pharmaceutical care issues pertinent to specific patient populations. For example, how would the pharmacist help select a blood glucose meter or demonstrate injection technique for a vision-impaired diabetes patient?
The chapters on herbal and homeopathic remedies could be removed from the text. This is a necessary topic to cover in a nonprescription drug course, but it may better be delivered within the context of the disease states these remedies are intended to treat. Many chapters in the Handbook do this quite well. This book is not a primary information source for herbal and homeopathic remedies. There now are quality reference publications that have more extensive, evidence-based information on these subjects.
This text is not a true "handbook" as the title implies; it is much too large for that. Rather, it is an introductory text for a self-care and nonprescription drugs course. The book is revolutionary in that, before it, there was no gold standard reference for nonprescription medications. Considering its reasonable price, organization, and good references, pharmacy students and teachers in nonprescription drug/self-care courses should appreciate this text. The Handbook also is useful for community pharmacists who want to systematically study to update their nonprescription drug and self-care knowledge and skill. It is not, however, very useful as a quick reference given the hectic environment in most contemporary community pharmacy practices. Other references, such as Drug Facts and Comparisons, adequately fulfill that need.
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