|
 Written
by clinical pharmacists, the book ‘Pharmaceutical
care made easy’ is a readily accessible paperback
that claims “to
improve practice, bring clarity and order to drug regimes, and contribute
to patients’ care”.
This book goes beyond the current concept
of a brief medicines use review to look holistically at improving the
patient’s quality of life. In doing so, it opens the way to confident
and competent medicines management for both hospital-based clinical pharmacists
and community pharmacists.
In the first of three sections, the authors redefine the pharmaceutical
care cycle and outline the tools needed for their two-stage approach.
This centres on identifying and prioritising each problem — medical,
pharmaceutical or potential.
Specific therapeutic problems are covered in section 2, accompanied by
informative flow charts conveying how these problems fit into the cycle
of care. Section 3 reveals just how important systematic clerking and
the taking of a careful history are for preparing a pharmaceutical care
plan.
Each section has plenty of self-assessment questions, examples and answers,
but no multiple choice questions. Not a quick read, this book is about
diligence in following up references and acquiring a firm knowledge base.
It can confidently drive accreditation and continuing professional development
study time for years to come.
Noel Baumber
(a community pharmacist from Grantham, Lincolnshire, and company
secretary of the Independent Pharmacy Federation) |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal