Pediatric Psychopharmacology for Primary Care, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 9781610021999
ISBN-10: 1610021991
Copyright: 2019
Edition: 2nd
Author: Riddle, Mark A., Baum, Rebecca, dosReis, Susan, Foy, Jane Meschan, Frosch, Emily, Green, Cori,
Doody's Expert Review    Score: 100
Reviewer: Maria Alkureishi,  MD  (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
Description
This the second edition of an excellent, concise resource for pediatric primary care clinicians who are increasingly tasked with recognizing, diagnosing, and managing a variety of mental health and social issues in children. It contains a much-needed practical framework to use to assess patients, walks providers through the process of considering and initiating both nonmedical and medical interventions, and includes a critically important section on what to do when treatment is not successful.
Purpose
The purpose is to provide a conceptual framework for clinicians who are not specialty trained in mental health issues or psychotropic medications as well as practical guidance for how to diagnose, assess, and manage some of the behavioral and mental health issues they commonly encounter in patients. The book comes with a variety of tools including questionnaires, monitoring tools, and clinical practice guidelines as well as online resources and additional information to help augment the resources available to general primary care providers.
Audience
This is a great resource for any and all clinicians who deliver well care to children. Trainees, midlevel providers, and even seasoned practitioners who are on the frontlines and struggling with the rising prevalence of mental health disorders in children and adolescents, combined with the lack of availability of mental health specialists and the variability of training in these areas, will greatly benefit from this resource. Published by the Academy of Pediatrics, there is no better collection of well-organized, practical, and easy-to-access trusted material on this subject.
Features
As a general pediatrician, I know primary care clinicians will find the short and easy-to-use format of the book especially helpful. In particular, the sections on how to approach the initial assessment of a patient are extremely important. From assessing development, to triaging psychiatric or social emergencies, to evaluating for concurrent issues such as sleep disorders or social stressors, this section is key in providing a simple, logical, and reproducible approach to tackle complex mental and social concerns. Further, as someone who is not specialty trained in psychiatry or developmental pediatrics, I greatly appreciate the sections on general guidance, medications, need for referrals, and ongoing assessment. This is a tremendously helpful resource for busy clinicians.
Assessment
This is an excellent resource and I am confident primary care clinicians will find it incredibly helpful in their practice. This edition contains updated guidelines and prescribing regulations and provides online access to additional resources and information.
Review Questionnaire
Range Question Score
1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 10
1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10
1-5 Is this written at 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. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 5
1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient references? 5
1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5
1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book 5
1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 10
1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10