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.
Duncan Richards trained in clinical pharmacology at Oxford where he developed a strong interest in translational pharmacology. Since completing his training, Duncan has worked in drug discovery for GSK. His current role is as Clinical Director of the Academic Discovery Performance Unit. This group aims to bring together the drug development expertise of GSK with the specialist knowledge of academic investigators to develop a portfolio of novel drug molecules.
Jeff Aronson is Reader in Clinical Pharmacology, University of Oxford, and Honorary Consultant Physician to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. He does acute medical takes and teaches clinical students general medicine and practical drug therapy and prescribing. His research interests span all aspects of clinical pharmacology, especially adverse drug reactions and monitoring therapeutic interventions. He is President of the British Pharmacological Society, a member of the Formulary Committees of the British National Formulary and the British National Formulary for Children, a member of the Technology Appraisal Committee of NICE, Chairman of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission's Expert Advisory Group on Nomenclature, and Editor-in-Chief of Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs-The International Encyclopedia of Adverse Drug Reactions and Interactions (15th edition, 2006) and of its annual update volumes (Side Effects of Drugs Annuals). For a full curriculum vitae, see
www.clinpharm.ox.ac.uk/JKA.
Dr. Jamie Coleman received his MBChB from the University of Birmingham in 1999. He trained in the West Midlands as a Clinical Pharmacologist undertaking an MD on the subject of adverse drug reactions which he completed in 2008. During his training he also developed an interest in medical teaching and gained an MA Medical Education in 2008. He took up a Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist job in early 2009 at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and is an honorary senior lecturer in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences at the University of Birmingham. He continues to be involved in the teaching of therapeutics and prescribing to a wide variety of healthcare professionals at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
