The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7488 p154
9 February 2008

Useful book for all practitioners who provide pharmaceutical care to older people

‘Geriatric pharmacotherapy: a guide for helping the professional’, by C. Olsen, W. Tindall and M. Clasen. Pp324. Price $89. Atlanta: American Pharmacists Association; 2007. ISBN 978 1582120720

This book, produced by the American Pharmacists Association, introduces and discusses the key areas of pharmaceutical care for older people. The advantage of this publication is that it not only covers clinical areas specific to this population but also discusses prescribing principles and improving use of medicines.

Useful features include the use of case studies to aid understanding of the topic, and the use of the acronym HELPING that can be used during an assessment of medication needs.

The book is useful for all practitioners who provide pharmaceutical care to older people but will prove most beneficial to those who are new to this area and students. However, caution is needed since it is primarily designed for American healthcare professionals and therefore should be used in conjunction with established UK texts and guidelines.

Chapters include

• medication needs of the ambulatory elderly
• enhancing medication adherence
• altered pharmacokinetics in an elderly population
• pharmacotherapy issues relating to cardiovascular disease
• managing diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease
• common infections in the community
• issues in dermatology
• dealing with the dread of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
• diagnosis and treatment of depression
• pharmacotherapy issues of managing chronic pain
• nutrition and exercise
• natural medicines used by the elderly
• ethical prescribing
• improving medicines use

Jeremy Robson
(acting lead pharmacist elderly medicine at The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust)