Easy-to-use drug compendium

This book was first published almost 60 years ago and has its roots in the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS), setting out to provide an evidence-based foundation for safe and effective drug therapy. It is widely trusted for its established record in refuting unfounded efficacy claims, for its rigorous science-based editorial process and for its independence from the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.

With the publication of the current edition, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has continued to build on this foundation by providing a resource that focuses on the essential evidence-based information that will allow pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers to access quickly, in a straight-forward manner, the specific guidance needed to prescribe and monitor drug therapy safely and effectively. Paramount to providing such information is the critical, evidence-based evaluation of pertinent clinical data concerning drugs, with a focus on assessing thoroughly the advantages and disadvantages of various therapies, including interpretation of various claims of drug efficacy.

‘AHFS drug information 2016’ is a collection of drug monographs on almost every single drug entity available in the United States. Drug monographs are arranged by the AHFS Pharmacologic-Therapeutic Classification. Each easy-to-use monograph offers access to knowledge that is critical at the point of care. It contains a concise overview of the drug’s uses (both labelled and off-label) and an easily navigated list of doses specific to each use, age group, route of administration and special population (e.g. patients with hepatic or renal impairment). Important cautionary information follows a structured outline with numerous subdivisions to help the reader in locating specific contraindications, warnings, sensitivity alerts, age and condition specific precautions, safety in pregnancy and in breastfeeding women, the most common and serious adverse effects and drug interactions. An overview of the drug’s pharmacological actions and effects, as well as key pharmacokinetic characteristics is also included.

Each monograph is organised so that the most clinically relevant and frequently referenced information appears at the beginning.

Subscribers to the print version of this book will have free access to ASHP’s companion web site, designed to provide timely ongoing updates.

This text is soft backed with very flimsy pages that are likely to become easily damaged with constant use. It is, however, an easy-to-use and valuable reference source. One important attribute is that it is the longest running official drug compendium published in the United States by a scientific and professional society.