Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
NECESSARY, BUT LIMITED -- AND DIFFICULT TO USE WELL, April 10, 2003
By A Customer
I use the PDR all the time -- I'd be lost without it -- but this is a book that's easy to MIS-use. Much of the material is tough-going, such as how the medications work and how they may interact. To some extent this is unavoidable, but......even after all these years, the publisher hasn't figured out that some aspects of the format are quite poor. For example, what would be so hard about putting things like "half-lives" of medications in tabular form, or some other "eye-friendly" thing, so they could be seen at a glance??? And in general, if you're looking for a particular thing, even if you land on the right paragraph there's a good chance you won't see it. Also, for some reason, the side effects for any given medication are divided between two or more different sections of the article.
Most astonishingly, despite the fact that the PDR tends to list anything and everything as a possible side effect for every medication, some common side effects are simply not mentioned at all. And, oftentimes some of the major uses for a given medication are not mentioned. These two problems aren't the fault of the publisher; the first reflects failures of the medical literature in general and the second reflects the fact that many correct usages of medications are not officially approved. Also the listed dosage ranges are sometimes too limited; lower or higher dosages may be right for some people.
So, don't regard the PDR as the last word. Above all, don't take too seriously the endless lists of possible side effects. Remember that these aren't necessarily things that WILL happen; they MIGHT happen. And remember that the lists usually include a lot of things that rarely if ever happen -- yet sometimes fail to include things that DO happen. If you are convinced that a medication has done something to you, and the effect is NOT mentioned in the PDR, you're still probably right. But, don't assume that something IS happening just because it IS mentioned in the PDR!
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
PDR: Who pays for publishing?, January 16, 2003
This is a decent reference source, but remember that the book is paid for by the drug companies that advertise in it. I do not use it as a pharmacist because I have second thoughts on whether all of the info is unbiased. I think it does show some bias. In addition, drugs are not even mentioned unless a drug company pays to have it in there.
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7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Medical Reference Book for Everybody :Very Valuble, January 12, 2003
This book also is updated on a regular basis, because medications are being added to use for patients all of the time. A short note is put in with perscriptions by pharmacies for patients, but if it is a new medication that I have never used, I request the information the pharmacy received with the medication at the pharmacy. There are too many drug interactions and doctors forget a great deal of times as well as the pharmacy even though we assume the "patient profile" should keep them from making mistakes. I do not have this latest version, which I need very much. A doctor in VA used a laptop computer to monitor each of his patients, but it was 18mo. too late for me, as I had been admitted twice for a DVT, if you know what that is, which is life threatening. If I had this book prior to a pharmacist catching it, I would have had the time to look up every medication that I was on and found one I was taking cancelled out the blood thinner. A patient has the most time to spend looking up each medication that they are on, and because I did not have this book, I am probably going to need blood thinners the rest of my life. I met the doctor with the laptop computer two weeks after the pharmacist saw such a high dose of the blood thinner being perscribed and she took it upon herself to look at the other medications that I was taking.It was a very serious consequence to my not having this book to refer to and to understand the medication in the first place when it was first ordered following a hip fracture as a result of an auto accident. I could not go out and purchase the book because I was just trying to get around with a walker and had little independence in getting around. This book is easy to understand, tells whoever reads it what doses are normally percsribed and how the medications interact with other medical conditions, side affects, and who should not be taking the medications if they have certain medical conditions. It can help a patient speak to their doctor if they forgot to tell the doctor of a medical condition that they have but did not mention. There are Brand names and the generic substitutes clearly sectioned off. It is not meant for a patient to tell their doctor how to perscribe medication for the patient, but it provides an abundance of information on medications that can help a patient understand why the medication is being perscribed, and help them when the "Red Flag" needs to be called to their attention and actually let their doctor know if they have forgotten to tell the doctor something or need to inform their pharmacist or doctor, information that could save their life. The size of the book is quite large and no doctor could walk around having all of that information on each medication that they order. The doctor expects the pharmicist to be a walking PDR, when in fact, the day has come that doctors need to humble themselves that they are not always right and pharmacists are human also and it takes the doctor, pharmacists, and patients working together. Patients know their medical history or they should have been told it honestly, so they can inform doctors of all of their medical conditions. The PDR is an excellent reference guide for patients as well as for pharmacists and physicians. You do not need a Medical Degree to understand this book. Patients need to be informed and have reference books to use when it can mean life or death if they do not have something to refer to for their health and the health of their family members. I consider it a Basic Reference Book that should be on the same shelf as a dictionary. It is a book of vital iformation that everyboy who has medical conditions or family or friends with medical conditions should own. Nobody can predict when they will need to refer to medications or medical conditions. I highly recommend this book to everybody. Mrs Symmington
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