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former Associate Professor of Social and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Drake University, Des Moines, IA
Published Online, April 11, 2006. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1G689
Audience: This hardcover textbook is intended for an audience whose primary focus is research. Hence, the book would be useful for the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory agencies, and academic investigators. In academic programs, its usefulness would be limited largely to graduate coursework in public health as well as PhD programs in colleges of medicine or pharmacy.
Purpose: The goal of the editor was for the text to serve both as a useful introduction to pharmacoepidemiology and as a reference source for the growing number of people interested in this field. The editor also suggests that this book could be used as a text for the courses now being offered by universities in this field. My sense, however, is that it should be used primarily as a comprehensive, in-depth, research-oriented reference on pharmacoepidemiology rather than as an introductory text.
Content: The book is organized much like previous editions. Following an introduction to pharmacoepidemiology, Part 2 describes perspectives from academia, regulatory agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry. Part 3 describes the systems that have been developed for pharmacoepidemiology studies—largely ad hoc data sources or automated data systems. Special applications of pharmacoepidemiology are covered in Part 4, while Part 5 presents methodologic issues.
Usability: Based on the references, the coverage seems inclusive and current. However, given its price and comprehensive content, it would be difficult to justify the book's cost as a text for undergraduate coursework in public health programs or professional degree programs in colleges of pharmacy.
Highlights: The strength of this book is clearly in the methodologic issues that are presented in an in-depth fashion. An additional strength is the research applications in real-life settings.
Limitations: The weaknesses of Pharmacoepidemiology relate to the fact that this is a multiple-authored text, with 99 contributors. Some of the chapters seem short and superficial, while others are lengthy and comprehensive.
Comparison with Previous Edition: The organization and content are similar to that of previous editions. Most chapters have been revised; some of the previous chapters have appropriately been eliminated. The section related to data sources has been significantly updated, and the section on special applications is new.
Comparison with Other Related Books: There are few books published on pharmacoepidemiology, and those that are available are either in need of a new edition or written primarily as introductory texts for professional degree programs. There are textbooks written on in-depth methodologic issues in epidemiology that are considered standard texts in the research arena. Pharmacoepidemiology compares favorably with standard research-oriented texts covering the broader topic of epidemiology.
Reviewer's Summary: Overall, the new edition of Pharmacoepidemiology has again provided the researcher in regulatory agencies, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry with a useful text that should be considered a standard in this specialty area. The editor has achieved his goal, and I would recommend the book's purchase by those who are engaged in quality research in pharmacoepidemiology. It should also be considered for purchase as a reference by libraries at universities that offer professional degree programs in pharmacy.
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