Book Description

The new edition of Clinical Manual of Psychopharmacology in the Medically Ill continues the legacy and builds on the success of the first edition by offering a thoroughly up-to-date, comprehensive, and practical guide to the prescription of psychotropic medications in patients with medical illness. The book addresses the prevalence of psychiatric illness in patients with serious medical illness, the complications that may arise, and the implications for psychopharmacological treatment. There is increasing recognition that patients with medical and psychiatric comorbidity have more functional impairment, disability days, emergency department use, rehospitalization, and other medical care costs than do those without such comorbidity. As a result, health care systems have been incentivized to develop new and innovative models of population-based care that integrate medical and psychiatric care in an effort to increase quality and prevention while decreasing use of expensive services such as emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The book is a valuable guide for clinicians across a range of specialties operating in this new, more demanding health care environment. The manual addresses critically important topics through the use of a variety of user-friendly features: Psychiatric drugs that have become available since the first edition, as well as all recent relevant randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, are covered thoroughly. Each chapter addresses key differential diagnostic considerations and adverse neuropsychiatric side effects of disease-specific medications. Disease-specific pharmacokinetic principles in drug prescribing, including interactions between psychotropic drugs and disease-specific drugs, are also addressed. Key summary points pertaining to psychotropic prescribing in the specific medical disease(s) or specialty area covered are included at the end of each chapter, and a multitude of useful tables summarizing the most important information are provided as well. Chapters are heavily referenced with source information should readers wish to expand their knowledge in a specific area. The chapter authors were selected for their expertise in each area, then the text was edited for consistency, clarity, and maximum utility. Clinical Manual of Psychopharmacology in the Medically Ill is a rigorous and illuminating guide to this vital topic, and clinicians from a variety of specialties will find it indispensable.