Psychotropic Drug Directory 2012:
The professionals' pocket handbook an aide memoire

Stephen Bazire
Chief Pharmacist for Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, based in Norwich, Honorary Professor for the School of Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia, and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

The 2012 edition of the Psychotropic Drug Directory continues its aim of providing a source of rapidly accessible information for professional practicing clinicians, advice and references on psychiatric drugs and to act as an aide memoire.

The chapters include drug treatment options for major mental health conditions; selecting drugs, doses and switching; psychotropics in problem areas; drug interactions; drug-induced psychiatric disorders; managing adverse reactions and finally an update on new drugs in the pipeline.

New sections include postnatal depression and psychotropic drug use in sleep apnea. The 2012 edition also includes more than 1,500 new references.

The Psychotropic Drug Directory has been published regularly since 1993, during which time there have been 25 editions in three languages and over 500,000 copies sold worldwide. The now well-known format of information arranged in a problem-solving manner allows issues to be resolved quickly and easily.

This book has become recognised as an invaluable tool for psychiatrists, trainee psychiatrists and pharmacists and has helped to raise the profile of mental health care by assisting healthcare workers in their day-to-day management and treatment of patients suffering from a mental health disorder. The text is unique in its coverage of all relevant references to individual drugs and, in turn, their individual interactions, as well as defining the different drugs available for specific conditions. The in-depth analysis of side-effects that may be experienced has served to guide practitioners in their prescribing, thereby ensuring that patients receive the best possible care, with the minimum of discomfort. There is also a comprehensive index to guide readers to their areas of concern.