Take as Directed

There is substantial evidence that the Canadian healthcare system has significant issues. Sharing this view are researchers and health professionals who often cite concerns about suboptimal safety, and patients who point to the lack of access to care and treatments as concerns. The good news for Canadians is that the main causes of adverse events within the health care system are known, and there are many practical things patients can do for themselves to prevent them from occurring.

Take As Directed: Your Prescription for Safe Health Care in Canada (ECW Press, September 2010) is an invaluable new resource to help Canadians navigate the health care system. The authors of the book, two of Canada's most respected health-care professionals, provide down-to-earth advice to help all Canadians achieve the safest health outcome for their families and themselves.

In clear and engaging language, Take As Directed describes a call to the family doctor's receptionist, the examination room encounter, the pharmacy counter, a visit to the emergency department, and a stay on the hospital ward, and explains how to avoid common pitfalls. Health experts agree that patient engagement and information is the key for a high quality and safe experience. Health-care consumers will learn how to provide critical information to their caregivers and know what information they must obtain from them. Many adverse health outcomes are related to the use of medications, readers will learn how to safely and effectively use their prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. Additionally, the book reveals other vital information forCanadians such as:

How to find a family physician Communication styles of health-care providers Tips for dealing with various "bedside manners" Trustworthy sources of health and medication information on the web What physicians need to know in order to safely prescribe medications Reducing the chances of an adverse drug event (one of the commonest reasons for visits to Canadian emergency departments) Ways community pharmacists can be a source of information How to successfully manage medication side effects What patients should do if they experience an adverse drug event (ADE) Creating a personal health-care centre in the home.

The issues in Take As Directed affect all Canadians and it will provide answers forall stakeholders in the health caresystem. The first book of its kind, Take As Directed has received endorsements from the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Canadian PharmacistsAssociation, Families Launching Action Against Medication Error, Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Health, and The Commonwealth Fund.

About the authors:

Neil J. MacKinnon, Ph.D., FCSHP, is Associate Director of Research, College of Pharmacy, and Professor, School of Health Administrationand Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University in Halifax. A Ph.D.-trained pharmacist, he has published more than 150 papers in pharmacy and medical literature and has given more than 140 presentations at health-care and scientific meetings on the safety and effectiveness of the medication-use system. He has been the lead investigator of several studies in this area, and heads the largest research program in Canada that addresses the issue of medication errors. Neil is currently president of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.

Rhonda L. Church, M.D., has more than two decades ofexperience as a cradle-to-grave family physician. She is a Past President ofDoctors Nova Scotia, the professional organization that represents theprovince's physicians and physicians-in-training to government, the public, andother health-care stakeholders. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Medical Association and currently chairs the Canadian Medical Association's Core Committee on Health Care and Promotion. Dr. Church resides in Bridgewater, N.S., with her husband and their two teenaged children.