The APRN and PA's Complete Guide to Prescribing Drug Therapy 2020

ISBN: 9780826179333
ISBN-10: 0826179339
Copyright: 2019
Edition: 1st
Author: Wirfs, Mari J.
Doody's Expert Review    Score: 81
Reviewer: Carol Agana,  MNSc, RNP, APRN  (University of Arkansas)
Description
This guide to medications to treat specific medical conditions is organized by diagnosis and includes alternative medications. The most useful aspect of the book is that it provides options for each diagnosis. The accompanying website offers 12 months of an ebook version.
Purpose
The purpose, according to the author, is to provide a "handy pocket prescribing reference." It is a handy book because it is organized by diagnosis and I have not seen another one like it. It is interesting that the offer for digital access is only for 12 months, since many providers do not prescribe new drugs unless they have been out for about two years.
Audience
The book meets the needs of the intended audience of prescribers, but it is not really pocket sized; it is too heavy and big for a pocket. The author is credible with a long list of publications. She notes that she did not compile this work alone, but she mentions no names.
Features
The book is organized by diagnosis and includes dosages and comments. It is very thorough, and it is particularly useful that alternative medications are listed along with the first line medication. It is organized very well and in a traditional manner (like most other medication handbooks). There are also tables that help providers make decisions about which medications to prescribe.
Assessment
I like this book and may use it myself when searching for a specific diagnosis and how to treat it with medication. I have seen no other drug handbook by diagnosis that also includes dosages. I especially like the tables, such as for birth control pills, that make it possible to compare two or more ingredients. Updates of guides like these probably need to be done every three to four years.
Review Questionnaire
Range Question Score
1-10 Are the product's objectives met? 10
1-5 Does the website help achieve the purpose? 5
1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 6
1-5 Is this directed to an appropriate level? 5
1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5
1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5
1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 4
1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? N/A
1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. N/A
1-5 Are there sufficient references? N/A
1-5 Rate the currency of the references. N/A
1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5
1-5 Rate the added value from the online version. 4
1-5 Is the online version easy to access? 5
1-5 Rate the ease of navigation/search. 5
1-5 Rate the pedagogic quality of images on the online version. N/A
1-5 Rate the value of added audiovisual features online. N/A
1-5 Is there sufficient use of hypertext links? 1
1-5 Are there hyperlinks from references to journal articles? 1
1-5 Is there appropriate use of features like bookmarking, printing/exporting? N/A
1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 8
1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 8