Safe and effective prescribing is one of the pillars of medical practice but is much more complicated than it seems. Many new prescribers find prescribing extremely challenging, and a plethora of independent, multidisciplinary prescribers are also seeking guidance. However, pharmacology textbooks are rarely practical. They warn to 'take care when prescribing erythromycin to a patient on warfarin, as the INR may rise'. But what should the prescriber actually do? Surviving Prescribing fulfils an important need by offering practical advice for real-world prescribing problems. The book complements existing educational resources but adds a new perspective. Written by experienced contributors from a variety of professional backgrounds, the content speaks directly to the problems routinely seen in hospital prescribing. And all in one, pocket-sized volume. Whether revising for the national Prescribing Safety Assessment, preparing for starting on the wards, or looking for a quick reference guide, this book is an essential companion.
Tells the story of how a group of Soviet and American doctors came together to stop nuclear proliferation and ended up winning the Nobel Peace Prize and influencing the course of history. This book also sheds light on what really drove and still drives the nuclear arms race, and the importance of citizen involvement in social change efforts.
Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.
"An expose on how medical care became dysfunctional; getting the best care when you really need it; a prescription for wellness, longevity, and personal accountability."--Cover. McGuff and Murphy offer an evidence-based "game plan" for taking control of your own medical care, protecting yourself and your loved ones regardless of what the future holds; a must-have resource for taking your health into your own hands.
THIS IS POSSIBLY THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, NONTECHNICAL AND PRACTICAL BOOK ABOUT HEALTH CARE YOU MAY EVER READ; especially if you have a heart problem, cancer or any neuro degenerative illness. THIS BOOK COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE, or extend your life for many years without going to any extreme. It contains tons of information about living in a polluted world and how to cope with that. It also provides information on the hazards of our medical care system and how to survive in spite of that. The book includes valuable information on where to look for possible cures. You will be surprised and amazed at all the evidence that there are no incurable diseases.
The effective treatment of many mental health conditions necessitates that clinicians prescribe medications. Considerations for ethical treatment, however, demand that clinicians be wary of advertising hype, aggressive sales pitches, and confusing statistical methods. Psychotropic Drug Prescriber's Survival Guide is a long-awaited primer on the basic principles of pharmaceutical research, statistical methods, and health care ethics. The common sense approach of the authors enables practitioners to use information about psychiatric medications intelligently and to develop responsible prescribing practices. This book appears at a time when new guidelines are emerging every day in response to growing public concern about industry marketing. The authors write within the context of this changing policy environment and apprise readers of what is developing in terms of regulations and what impact those regulations will have on their practice. However, sensible prescribers recognize that responsible treatment still cannot depend on external controls. Psychotropic Drug Prescriber's Survival Guide helps clinicians negotiate this complex situation and arms them with strategies for getting to the facts in an era in which solid science competes with marketing fictions.
Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.
The opioid crisis in the United States has come about because of excessive use of these drugs for both legal and illicit purposes and unprecedented levels of consequent opioid use disorder (OUD). More than 2 million people in the United States are estimated to have OUD, which is caused by prolonged use of prescription opioids, heroin, or other illicit opioids. OUD is a life-threatening condition associated with a 20-fold greater risk of early death due to overdose, infectious diseases, trauma, and suicide. Mortality related to OUD continues to escalate as this public health crisis gathers momentum across the country, with opioid overdoses killing more than 47,000 people in 2017 in the United States. Efforts to date have made no real headway in stemming this crisis, in large part because tools that already existâ€"like evidence-based medicationsâ€"are not being deployed to maximum impact. To support the dissemination of accurate patient-focused information about treatments for addiction, and to help provide scientific solutions to the current opioid crisis, this report studies the evidence base on medication assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD. It examines available evidence on the range of parameters and circumstances in which MAT can be effectively delivered and identifies additional research needed.
The legendary comedian uses his “hilarious yet soul-shaking” humor to confront racism’s unjust impact on the health and wellbeing of Blacks and minorities (Black Enterprise). White people love survival guides, but have you noticed they’re always about ridiculous activities in locations far from home. You know who really needs a survival guide? Black and brown Americans. For surviving their own damn country! Minority populations wake up every day in a battle for their health and safety. Thankfully, legendary activist-comedian D. L. Hughley offers How to Survive America, a fearless satire that exposes racism’s unjust toll on our bodies and minds. Even before COVID-19 disproportionately impacted minority communities, life expectancy for Blacks was a full three years less than for white Americans. The very air we breathe is more polluted, our water is more contaminated, our local food options are toxic, and our jobs are underpaid. Despite the obvious need, the quality of our health care is tragically inadequate. Our communities are statistically less safe than the average, and yet we’re terrorized by the law-enforcement and criminal-justice systems that are supposed to protect us, sending Blacks to prison at five times the rate of whites. Not least, our means of addressing these injustices—voting—is perennially under assault. It’s enough to drive you crazy. Well, guess what? According to Cigna, Blacks are 20 percent more likely to report “psychological distress” yet “50 percent less likely to receive counseling or mental health treatment.” It’s almost like the entire country has been structured with no regard for our welfare. Hmmm. Whether you’re Black, white, brown, or Asian, don’t leave home without arming yourself with How to Survive America!
