Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines, by Jack E. Fincham. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2008. 205 pages, $19.95 (paperback).
The Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines is intended for the layperson as a guide to taking medications safely and correctly. Intended to serve as a resource for patients, families, caregivers, and health professionals, the book provides information about types of drugs, actions, and effects in simple, nontechnical language. The book is paperback and consists of 15 chapters, each with references. There are 2 appendices and an index.
The content areas reflected in the 15 chapters include background information about keeping one's own medical (and medicine) records, guidance on how to obtain information about medicines from various sources, general information about types of drugs, and how they are used and "do's and don'ts" about drugs (including how to take them correctly). Two chapters provide detailed information about the most often used categories of drugs-over-the-counter pain relief drugs and antibiotics. There is a chapter with detailed information about interactions among various drugs and with herbal products. Another chapter deals with examining complementary and alternative products, including where to obtain reliable information. In the last few chapters, the author summarizes Medicare Part D drug programs and provides details about additional resources for those who qualify for Medicare. The final chapter presents current issues about policies related to medicines, such as FDA policies on "off-label prescribing," imported drugs, and other similar topics. Finally, the 2 Appendices provide Web sites for obtaining more information about drugs and resources for older adults-the audience that consumes the majority of medications. The content of the book is clearly organized into segments with subheadings, making it relatively easy to find specific information and to scan the text. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of many tables, drawings, and figures to supplement the text. The outer edge of each right-hand page includes the title of the chapter in bold print, which helps continually "orient" the reader to the topic at hand.
The content of the Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines is valuable and comprehensive, while remaining concise and useful for the intended audience. The author's credentials and position as a professor of pharmacy practice lend credibility to the content, which appears accurate and well supported with authoritative references. Although the author presents most topics in simple, easily-understood language, the book nonetheless is for those with a relatively high level of literacy because of the necessary inclusion of medical terminology (eg, immunizations, edema, etc). The author does an excellent job providing basic information about a variety of aspects of medications, keeping it simple and subsequently offering additional resources (Web sites, organizations, etc) for those who wish to obtain more information. One of the most laudable aspects of the book is the extensive list of Web sites provided, all of which are reliable sources (eg, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, MEDLINE, etc). There is a general assumption that one can access the Internet; however, addresses and phone numbers are also given, providing alternatives for those not experienced in using the computer. One minor criticism is that the content is at times repetitious-that is, the same information is found in more than one place. However, this may be a plus, given that the information is about a complex topic and repetition enhances learning and understanding especially for those less familiar with the topic.
In summary, the Everyday Guide to Managing Your Medicines provides a useful resource for patients, families, and care providers by offering an extensive array of information about medicines and medicine-taking time in 1 concise source. In addition to being a handbook for the layperson, the book could also serve as a resource for pharmacists, nurses, and physicians who work with groups of older adults to teach them how to safely and correctly take medications.
-Sharon Williams Utz, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, University of Virginia, School of Nursing, Charlottesville, VA