|
 Pharmacy is unique because of pharmaceutics and if we lose our expertise
in this specialty then we lose pharmacy. It is therefore refreshing,
when the profession is being directed towards a clinical patient approach
in the NHS and away from a clinical product approach across the whole
of the profession, to see this book published.
This is probably the most
comprehensive book on the subject since the 12th edition of Cooper and
Gunn’s ‘Dispensing for pharmaceutical students’ was
published in 1975.
The book is essentially three books in one supplemented with an excellent,
modern, technological presentation on a CD-ROM. The latter is likely
to become obsolete due to the rapid advancements in computer technology,
but the book will remain as an excellent source of information for decades.
Part 1 is the history of compounding which is fascinating reading. The
political leaders of our profession could learn a lot from this section.
It details the history of the profession, the various legislative acts
and the development of the pharmacopoeias. Historical dosage forms, and
weights and measures are also included.
Part 2 is a teaching section on pharmaceutical forms and preparation,
addressing formulation skills and extemporaneous dispensing. Each type
of preparation is considered in detail including its stability, the use
of excipients (such as preservatives and flavourings) and illustrations
with worked examples are used throughout.
Part 3 is an alphabetical reference source of product formulae used in
the book.
The CD-ROM contains still images and video images to be used in conjunction
with the book and it is clearly indicated in the book when to view an
image or video clip. This really is a great idea.
I commend this book to every pharmacy student, pharmacist and pharmacy
technician.
Colin Ranshaw
(principal pharmacist, Quality Assurance and Control at Cardiff
and Vale NHS Trust) |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal