Pt Education: Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines

from American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education ..

By Sulli, Maria Marzella PharmD

Fincham JE. Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines.Massachusetts: Jones andBartlettPublishers; 2008. 205 pp, $20.95 (softcover) ISBN: 9780763749675. The book Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines provides readers with 15 chapters of valuable information about using medications safely. There is a tremendous need for resources instructing patients how to use medications safely and effectively. There has been a lot of attention paid recently to the potential for medication errors caused by patients' misuse of medications. More and more evidence is surfacing regarding issues such as health literacy and the importance of being informed about medications prior to using them.

There are few books available written by pharmacists with the purpose of educating consumers about the general safe use of medications. This book attempts to do just that, with chapters focusing on general information about drugs, drug-drug interactions, and complementary and alternative medicine to name a few. The book does not address the patient with one specific disease state such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, but rather provides the consumer with an overview of the issues related to the safe and effective use ofmedicines. Themedication is the focus of the information and the book provides 2 chapters dedicated to commonly used classes ofmedications: antibiotics and nonprescription pain relievers. These chapters review the general patient counseling information vital to the safe and effective use of these 2 common classes of medications.

This resource is clearly intended to be used by patients and their caregivers to provide the background information necessary to be good "medication takers," and as the author states, "to have you become the best patient that you can be." In my opinion, the target audience specifically would be senior patients, as there are chapters in the book dedicated to resources available to help with Medicare Part D and an Appendix of web sites that seniors would find helpful to aid them in their medication taking. Readers should be cautioned, however, as informational resources change so rapidly that the chapter could become outdated very quickly.

The book also provides readers with tips to enhance their compliance with medications, such as the role of compliance aids and the need to monitor your condition, for both effect and adverse events.

The book is written in a way that patients can understand and many people will find this book a valuable addition to their personal library. Pharmacists can feel comfortable suggesting this book to patients in need of a general overview of safe medication use, such as those recently diagnosed with a chronic illness that will require the use of multiple medications.

Copyright American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 2008

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