Available without a prescription, an essential reference for every family
For more than twenty-five years, "The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs" has helped families make sense of the overwhelming and often contradictory flood of information about their prescriptions. Filled with critical health information, this fully revised and updated edition provides more detailed and comprehensive profiles on the most important drugs in current use than any other reference source. You'll find: The benefits and risks of each drug highlighted in quick, easy-to-read reference boxes How each drug works and what to do if you miss a dose Comprehensive safety information -- including the latest details on dangerous drug combinations and interactions with herbal medicines Special precautions to take if you're over sixty, pregnant, or breastfeeding Cost-saving advice for both consumers and medical professionals 16 pages of color photographs of common prescription drugs And much more!
About the Author JAMES J. RYBACKI, Pharm.D., was born in Oneonta, New York. He received his prepharmacy education at Creighton University and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Pharmacy, in Omaha. Dr. Rybacki has more than three decades of hospital and clinical experience that include early efforts in gas-liquid chromatography research characterizing human drug metabolites, and data collection for the College of American Pathologists to establish normal values for laboratory studies.
He is the editor of www.EssentialGuideToPrescriptionDrugs.com and is a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and has provided clinical rounding and hospital experience for Pharm.D. and bachelor students. He presently teaches a Drug Information rotation for Pharm.D. students at The Clearwater Group. He is board certified in pain management at the Diplomat level by the American Academy of Pain Management, and provides ongoing clinical pain management and medicine information nationwide.
He is a guest lecturer and researcher at the Department of Family Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is a member of The National Council of Hospice Professionals, the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, The National Lipid Association and sits on the National Advisory Council of the Mended Hearts International. Dr. Rybacki was actively involved in the post marketing monitoring of medicines via The Drug Surveillance Network, a nationwide association of clinical pharmacists, and he is an approved External New Drug Application reviewer for the Canadian Drug Ministry. He lives in Maryland.
Dr. Rybacki's efforts in drug information and clinical pharmacy include many years of active practice, including infectious disease, pharmacokinetic, nutrition support, pain management, and pharmacological consultations. Through an Occupational Health Unit, he has offered independent pain management and pharmacological consultations nationwide. He has also advised the World Health Organization's Expert Committee regarding revisions as well as the selection of drugs to be listed in The Use of Essential Drugs and is an assistant editor for the Drugdex drug information system. His past role as a Vice President Clinical Services bought him added expertise in overseeing occupational health, physical medicines, laboratory services, imaging, cardiology, respiratory therapy, cancer programs, and continuing medical education. He served as conference coordinator for the first and second annual Dorchester General Hospital Pain conferences and as seminar coordinator for the eastern shore of Maryland for the "Take Control" physician and public pain education programs with Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Rybacki is now president of The Medicine Information Institute--headquartered in Maryland. He provides drug information support and clinical pharmacy services to physician groups, consumers, and employers; holds seminars and continuing education meetings on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, adherence, osteoporosis, pain management, women's health, and therapeutics; provides information support to insurance companies and HMOs; provides on-site hospital consulting on JCAHCO pain standards, optimizing use of medicines and other programs, produces educational tapes and television programming on medicines; designs clinical programs; conducts independent pharmacological evaluations and has most recently been the Health System Director of Pharmacy at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
He served on the Patient Education and Professional Education Committees of the American Heart Association on a national level, was the first Pharm.D. Committee member of the American Heart Association Pharmaceutical Roundtable and is actively designing research involving how, why, and when to enhance the way people take their medicines and decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease. He is a strong advocate of a multilevel/interdisciplinary approach to help patients get the most from their medicines and is designing projects to involve pharmacists/physicians/PAs/nurses/nurse practitioners/cardiac rehab programs at the practice site itself in helping patients and families understand risk factors, proven medicines and how to get the best results over time. Medicines and Your Family, National Treatment Guidelines was the first publication resulting from this novel focus and the second edition, Heart Attack transition was guest edited by Roger S. Blumenthal, MD and is now available on Amazon.
He was selected for full membership in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, is a Certified Clinical Densitometrist (CCD) through the Society for Clinical Densitometry, served a two-year term appointed by the governor of Maryland on a state-wide Osteoporosis Task Force in Maryland (see www.strongerbones.org). He is a lifetime member of Who's Who in Global Business. Dr. Rybacki is director of clinical research, therapeutics, and outcomes at the Medicine Information Institute--an interdisciplinary consulting and education group. Dr. Rybacki has been a frequent guest on Comcast's Family Talk live television program as well as their Real Life TV. He is now the writer and host of a patient education series called Medicines and Your Family with Dr. Jim Rybacki. You may have also heard him as the voice and writer of the Bayer Aspirin Pharmacist Report (a short-segment program on preventing a first heart attack). Catch Dr. Jim on TV, the Web, and on the radio (www.EssentialGuideToPrescriptionDrugs.com!
An active national speaker, Dr. Rybacki gave the keynote address at the 2004 Mended Hearts Leadership Conference, The MCV Update for Clinicians talking about Women and cardiology Disparities,spoke at the Simmons Cnacer Center in Dallas Texas on adherence in cancer treatments,was the Mended Hearts spokesperson for the AACE State of Diabetes Complications in America campaign and spoke at the University of Maryland Department of Imaging Spring Symposium on Safe Use of Sterile Contrast Agents. He was a member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Distinguished faculty in HIV faculty from 1994 to 2003, lectured across the country and now speaks on heart disease. He has jointly authored several articles in professional journals on use of medicines in infectious diseases, critical care, therapeutics, and cost containment and adherence. The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs, first published in 1977, was co-authored by Dr. Rybacki since 1994, before he assumed full authorship in 1996. Dr. Rybacki leveraged his expertise on medicines to The Medicine Man, a nationwide live radio show, which was developed, written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Rybacki in 1995. He is the original writer and host of the American Pharmaceutical Association's The Pharmacist Minute radio program, and is the writer, producer, and host of Medicines and Your Family with Dr. Jim Rybacki. He is a frequent guest on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU (NPR), AARP Prime Time and others.
Dr. Rybacki created a new book supported by an unrestricted educational grant from the Mended Hearts via Bristol-Myers Squibb/ Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership. The book is called Medicines and Your Family, National Treatment Guidelines and has had more than 100,000 copies of the first edition given to heart patients and their families by The Mended Hearts, Inc. (www.mendedhearts.org). The first update was released in 2011 and benefits from the thoughts and input from Dr. Blumenthal at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Rybacki thinks that the best colleague any doctor can have is a more fully informed patient. Dr. Rybacki brings late-breaking information to people via popular sites on the World Wide Web at www.EssentialGuideToPrescriptionDrugs.com.
This is one of the most accessable books for reading and understanding the basic and most common prescription drugs as well as their side effects and interactions with other medications and herbal remedies.
The info is timely, up to date and well-written. You'll only find more info in something like the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) but the PDR is far too dense for the average person and is written with such complex medical terminology that you practically need a translator to understand. The Essential Guide is a good alternative, containing the most important facts. With it, you're likely to stay safe, informed and healthy.
In this age of soaring medical costs, I especially like the tips for saving money on medical care and prescriptions. There are also special sections for those in their 50s and 60s as well as a section for pregnant women. In short, this one covers all the bases.
One caveat: Don't assume that this book (or any) has the newest, most up to date info. Be pro-active and look for any changes in info, whether it be in your daily newspaper, on tv news shows or on internet sites. New research comes out every day (such as the new Black box warnings being put on many ADD meds) and NO book can possibly contain the absolute newest info. But as a basic reference guide, this one is just fine.
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This review is from: The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs 2006: Everything You Need To Know For Safe Drug Use (Paperback)
The easiest, most understandable up to date book for laymen on the market, especialy when considering possible side effects of a med (as important as the targeted condition the med is taken for). It doesn't cover ALL drugs but the ones it does is in a comprehensive easy to use format.
I've been buying this book every year it's been in print (since 1987, except one or two years when it was wasn't reprinted). Some years it may not even get used but for 20 bucks when it's needed it's there.
Having tried, or thoroughly looked at, just about every med book on the market (including the Physcian's Desk Reference), I can, without reservation, say this one is the best for laymen. No one who takes any kind of medication should be without it.
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