Canadian Medical Association New Guide to Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs

Sarah Robertson is an associate editor of the Canadian Book Review
Annual.

This layperson’s guide to drugs available in Canada is divided into
five parts. Part 1, Understanding and Using Drugs, provides an overview
of drugs with respect to classification, actions and effects, methods of
administration, special-risk groups, dependency, and therapy management.
Part 2, the Drug Finder Index, contains photographs of 259 popular drug
products and a cross-referenced index listing approximately 3500 drug
products and substances. Part 3, Major Drug Groups, examines the
principal classes of drugs in terms of uses, actions, effects, risks,
and special precautions. Part 4, the A–Z of Drugs, presents detailed
profiles of 320 drugs, along with supplementary profiles of vitamins and
minerals, drugs of abuse, and food additives. Part 5 consists of a
glossary, a general index, and a Drug Poisoning Emergency Guide.

Accessible prose, standardized formats, extensive cross-references, and
helpful diagrams combine to create a guide that is a model of
user-friendliness. Particularly welcome is the inclusion of both generic
and brand names in the index of medications. The Canadian Medical
Association has succeeded admirably in achieving its stated aim of
contributing to the development of a new “therapeutic alliance”
among physicians, patients, and pharmacists.