E-drug: Re: Evidence-based drug information (cont'd)
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Information about the Australian guidelines has been provided by Mary
Hemming as follows:
Therapeutic Guidelines Limited is an independent, not-for-profit
organisation dedicated to developing guidelines for therapy from the world
literature but using the experience and insight of Australian experts.
The Therapeutic Guideline books are a series of pocket-sized books. They
start with the diagnosis and then discuss thevarious therapeutic options
available (including non-drug options when appropriate).
The guidelines give succinct, explicit, practical and readable therapeutic
recommendations for drug therapy. The books are updated every two to three
years to ensure currency.
The recommendations for therapy in the Guidelines are based on scientific
evidence where possible. For inexperienced prescribers, the Guidelines
recommendations form an acceptable basis for the management of patients.
For experienced prescribers, the Guideline recommendations provide a
valuable 'second opinion' against which they can compare their own
prescribing.
Titles currently available are: Analgesic (3rd edition), Antibiotic (10th
edition), Cardiovascular (3rd edition), Endocrinology (1st edition),
Gastrointestinal (2nd edition), Neurology (1st edition), Psychotropic (3rd
edition) and Respiratory (1st edition). A new title, Dermatology, will be
available in August.
Further information about the organisation and the process used to develop
the manuscripts can be found at the web site, http://www.tg.com.au.
The books are now part of the Australian medical culture and indeed all the
books are endorsed by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners,
the National Prescribing Service and the Commonwealth Department of Health
and Aged Care.
If you would like any further details, you could contact Mary Hemming, the
Chief Executive Officer of Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. Her e-mail
address is mhemming@tg.com.au. She would be more than happy to answer any
further queries.
Beverley Snell
Public Health Pharmacist
International Health Unit, Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research
P O Box 254 Fairfield Australia 3078
Telephone 613 9282 2115 / 9282 2275
Fax 613 9482 3123
email <bev@burnet.edu.au>
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