Safe and effective prescribing is a cornerstone of proper patient care.
There has in recent years been a significant increase in the numbers of
healthcare professionals able to prescribe; however, sources of drug
information tend to focus on only one area of prescribing. The Oxford
Handbook of
Practical Drug Therapy links practical information about how to use
medicines with concise details about the pharmacology of a drug, and the
principles of clinical pharmacology that govern its action.
The overall structure of this handbook is similar to the UK national
formulary, with topics on each drug arranged broadly by therapeutic
category. When a drug has several different uses, these are brought
together in a single topic, allowing the reader to appreciate its full
range of actions,
whether therapeutic or adverse.
Each drugs topic provides information in a clearly laid out and
standardised form, and includes a graphical representation of the
pharmacological actions of the drug, and its potential uses, practical
advice on a drug's major indications, a list of common and serious
adverse effects, major drug-drug
interactions, practical advice on monitoring for therapeutic and adverse
effects, and what to tell the patient.
Teaching points throughout the text, draw out pharmacological
principles, so that readers can increase their basic knowledge by
linking theory with practical examples. Also included are several boxes
giving guidance on the approach to therapy of specific diseases an
clinical problems. In some cases,
algorithms for the treatment of medical emergencies are given, and this
new edition features case histories throughout the text to illustrate
the issues one may face in practical prescribing.
The Oxford Handbook of Practical Drug Therapy brings together for the
first time in a single book really practical information on safe
prescribing, with the background knowledge that underpins clinical
pharmacology. Fully revised with new guidance and important safety
information, this book is aimed
primarily at medical students and trainees, it will also be invaluable
to family doctors, clinical pharmacists, and nurse prescribers.
