The information here is a brief summary of that contained in The
Prescribed Drug Guide. In this book, I offer comprehensive
guidance to health-care practitioners in how to manage patients
taking prescribed drugs. The primary principle is the health and
well-being of the patient. No-one should do anything they are not
comfortable with or is potentially hazardous. If in doubt, seek the
support and guidance of a more experienced practitioner.
There are some general rules that it is useful to follow.
Consider the following before formulating an action plan.
Does the patient have an acute or a chronic condition?
People with acute illnesses require much more guidance from the
practitioner and the situation can change rapidly. This is
especially true when treating children.
What is the name of the drug? It is essential to have a
comprehensive source of information about drugs. The database on
this site is such a resource for you. Otherwise, you can refer to
other internet sites or books - see links.
How strong is the effect of the drug? I have developed a
way of categorising drugs according to their effects - levels 1 to
5. This is explored in detail in my book, The Prescribed Drug Guide
but essentially the different levels are:
Level 1: Drugs used on an occasional basis for the relief of symptoms
Level 2: Drugs which pose little or no threat to life when discontinued
Level 3: Drugs which cannot be stopped suddenly when used long-term
Level 4: Drugs with powerful effects on the mental and emotional levels
Level 5: Drugs which are essential to life
How long has the patient been taking the drug? A short
duration is much simpler to deal with.
What dose of the drug is the patient taking? Compare this
with the recommended drug dosages and you can decide if the patient
is taking a high, medium or low dosage.
How many drugs is the patient taking? One drug is clearly
much easier to deal with than several drugs.
Assess the patient's energy. This is important. A patient
taking multiple drugs in high dosage, for a long period of time for
a relatively severe condition and whose energy is low will require
more treatment for a longer time.
What support does the patient need? When people take
prescribed drugs, they frequently require a wider range of
supportive treatments. An integrated approach by several
practitioners may be necessary. In addition, the patient may require
psychological support particularly when trying to withdraw from
psychoactive drugs such as tranquillisers and antidepressants. You
will need to assess, with the patient, their needs and how to give
attention to these.
What support does the health-care practitioner need?
Treating patients who take prescribed drugs can be challenging and
demanding. What help and support do we need? We need to consider
supervision, on-going training and our own health requirements.
Some situations will require the supervision of a
conventionally trained practitioner. These include severe and
acute disease, life-threatening disease and those prescribed drugs
whose strength of action is Level 5.
