Demystifying Opioid Conversion Calculations: A Guide for Effective Dosing - Softcover

Mary Lynn McPherson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1585281980 ISBN 13: 9781585281985

Publisher: ASHP, 2009

Synopsis

Have you ever wondered if you calculated your patient’s dosage correctly? Against a backdrop of the growing scrutiny of appropriate dosages, this textbook takes a fresh, new approach to helping health professionals strengthen care to and possibly save the lives of patients living with pain. This easy-to-understand and often humorous book is the most comprehensive to-date on opioid calculations for pain management and palliative care. It carefully walks clinicians through a five-step process for performing opioid conversion calculations in the real-world situations they often see. The book has case examples, simple charts and tables, and practice problems throughout on topics such as:·         difficult conversions for methadone, fentanyl, PCA, and neuraxial opioid therapy·         conversions between routes and dosage formulations of the same opioids and different opioids·         titrating opioid dosages up and down to include dosage change and timing·         calculating doses for rescue opioid therapy Written by pain management expert Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson, the book gives helpful tips that practitioners should incorporate into their practices. It is a must for clinicians at all levels: hospice and palliative care physicians, physician’s assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists. Clinicians will come away with more confidence in doing the calculations, and higher service levels from the improvement in care.  

About this title

About the Author:

Mary Lynn McPherson, Pharm.D., BCPS,CPE, is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore. She has maintained a practice in both hospice (local and national) and ambulatory care her entire career. At present, Dr. McPherson is the Director of Pharmacotherapy Services at UniversityCare Waxter in Baltimore. Dr. McPherson teaches extensively in the Pharm.D. curriculum on pain management and end of life care, including didactic and experiential content. She also developed one of the first and few palliative care pharmacy residencies in the U.S. Dr. McPherson serves on the Board of the Hospice Network of Maryland and is also Chairman of the Board of the American Society of Pain Educators. McPherson is a Fellow in the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists and the American Pharmacists Association. She has received many honors for her work, including the American Pharmacists Association Distinguished Achievement Award in Specialized Practice, the Maryland Pharmacists Association Innovative Practice Award, and the Maryland Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists W. Purdum Lifetime Achievement Award. She has written four books, and many book chapters and peer-reviewed articles on pain management, palliative care, and other topics.

Review:

Reviewer
Dennis K Constan, PharmD (Temple University Health System - Northeastern Hospital) DescriptionWith good tables, patient case scenarios, practice problems, and relevant pearls of practice, this book reinforces the pertinent pharmacological and mathematical knowledge necessary to effectively and safely manage patients'pain regimens. PurposeIt is intended as an ongoing resource for healthcare providers who need to navigate the art and science of pain management in the safest, most effective manner. Through a thorough review of the relevant literature on opioid management, it seeks to distill and present the information and controversy about a challenging subject via a simplified, accessible tool. As the book espouses, good, effective, and safe pain management is a basic human right that practitioners struggle to achieve for their patients, given its complex blend of art and science. To have a resource that brings clarity to the approach and mechanics of opioid dosing is welcome. The book succeeds and its compellingfeature is its pedagogical approach to meet these objectives. AudienceIt is intended as an ongoing resource for healthcare providers who need to navigate the art and science of pain management in the safest, most effective manner. Through a thorough review of the relevant literature on opioid management, it seeks to distill and present the information and controversy about a challenging subject via a simplified, accessible tool. As the book espouses, good, effective, and safe pain management is a basic human right that practitioners struggle to achieve for their patients, given its complex blend of art and science. To have a resource that brings clarity to the approach and mechanics of opioid dosing is welcome. The book succeeds and its compellingfeature is its pedagogical approach to meet these objectives. FeaturesThe book focuses on the important basic mathematical, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and patient parameters that a practitioner must understand in order to safely and successfully transition patients between opioid regimens as their pain management needs change. Through tables, patient scenarios, and practice problems with explanations, the book succeeds in helping readers to not only digest and synthesize the information, but most importantly, apply what they are learning. Therapeutic pearls and pitfalls offer the basic information an additional nuance and value. Added features that make the book even more user friendly are statements of learning objectives for each chapter, a basic glossary, and an appendix of the available dosage formulations. If the book could use any enhancement, it would be its physical size. A continually accessible information resource for a practitioner is better when it is more portable, so a pocket-sized version of the book, perhaps with some abridging,would make it an ideal resource. AssessmentThis will undoubtedly be a useful tool for healthcare providers seeking to accurately and safely achieve their patients' pain management goals. What stands out is the high caliber of the quality of the teaching. The patient cases are well conceived, and the practice problems reinforce what is being taught. Because it easily can be referenced and applied to actual patient scenarios, the book is an excellent ongoing useful resource. Weighted Numerical Score: 91 - 4 Stars!
(Dennis K Constan, PharmD MedInfoNow 2010-03-01)

About this edition

• Publisher: ASHP
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1585281980
• ISBN 13: 9781585281985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208