Taking Your Medicine: A Guide to Medication ­Regimens and Compliance for Patients and Caregivers By Jack E. Fincham $39.95 (cloth) $22.95 (paper) Pharmaceutical Products Press

New book on medicine goes down easy

Many patients struggle with taking their medicine correctly. The complexity of dosing schedules, the misunderstanding of when to take the drugs and other complications can make getting well a challenge. Jack E. Fincham, A.W. Jowdy Professor of Pharmacy Care at UGA, offers a consumer oriented book in Taking Your Medicine. Written in an easy-to-understand tone, the book is a thorough overview of the foundations of pharmacy.

Chapter topics range from why drugs are prescribed and why compliance is important to dangerous drug interactions and helping an aging parent with medication.  Charts and tables provide information on treatable chronic diseases and acute conditions, potentially dangerous drugs for the elderly, medical assistance programs for the elderly and Web sites with specific information for consumers and health care professionals.  
      
Fincham answers the most basic of questions —why drugs are prescribed—and then offers advice on finding the right pharmacist, how to communicate with your doctor or pharmacist, drug-taking aids and specific directions for taking the medicine. He even suggests times to stop taking medication (“intelligent noncompliance”).

The conversational tone and Fincham’s expertise—he has been named by Drug Topics magazine as one of the 50 most influential pharmacists in the U.S.—makes Taking Your Medicine an easy-to-take swallow.