The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 21st Edition. (2006)

Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy is largely recognized as a primary resource for a wide scope of information related to the pharmaceutical sciences and to the practice of pharmacy. In this newest edition, the familiar format and 8 sections of Remington were retained, but use of color headings more clearly delineates between sections of text and increases the ease of reading. Upon request, purchasers of the book can obtain a free compact disc (CD) from the publisher, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The companion CD is essentially a scanned version of the entire book. The companion CD is portable and allows users to access the content of Remington from a computer, easily locate topics, bookmark pages, and add individual notes to the page or topic. The greatest advantage provided by the CD is the search function. With any large text, indices cannot adequately annotate every possible search term. The expanded search function of the CD version allows finding specific passages and content with significantly less time and effort. In addition, selections of pages can be printed from the CD, allowing transport of portions of the text rather than requiring one to transport the entire 2400-page tome. Thus, provision of a companion CD to Remington greatly enhances the functionality of the text.

The extent of revision differs between sections and between chapters. Some chapters were not revised at all between the 20th and 21st editions, whereas other chapters underwent significant updating. For example, Chapter 20, “Interfacial Phenomena,” was not altered; however Chapter 48, “The New Drug Approval Process and Clinical Trial Design,” was renamed, restructured, and updated considerably to reflect current conditions. Only 1 chapter, “Pharmacological Aspects of Substance Abuse” was deleted. The Appendices from the 20th edition, including dose equivalents, the Periodic Chart, and table of logarithms, are not listed in the Table of Contents of the 21st edition but are included in the text just prior to the Glossary. Over 100 new drug monographs were added to this edition. The monographs include similar information as listed in the Merck Index but are categorized by drug class rather than alphabetically by chemical name as in the Merck Index.

As stated in the Preface, the bulk of the revisions are concentrated in Part 8, Pharmacy Practice. The main purpose of this expansion of the Pharmacy Practice Section is to aid clinicians in applying the principles detailed in Remington to pharmacy practice. Many of the new chapters deal with emerging roles of pharmacists and include chapters entitled, “Providing a Framework for Ensuring Medication Use Safety,” “Re-Engineering Pharmacy Practice,” “Integrated Health Care Delivery Systems,” “Specialization in Pharmacy Practice,” “Pharmacists and Disease State Management,” and “Development of a Pharmacy Care Plan and Patient Problem-Solving.” Many practical tips, such as instructions on writing SOAP notes and preparing manuscripts for publication, are also included in the new chapter, “Professional Communication.” It is obvious from the addition of these new topics and the inclusion of 95 new contributing authors that the editors of Remington desire to keep this traditional pharmacy resource abreast with the rapidly changing field of pharmacy. Although its cost may preclude use as a textbook for pharmacy students, Remington is an invaluable resource for all pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.