“Patients who want to get the best out of Canada’s health care system will benefit from reading Take as Directed. Church and MacKinnon, a family doctor and a pharmacist, have put together advice that will help every Canadian meet the challenges of working with doctors and using medications appropriately. The style of writing makes difficult topics easy to follow. Helping consumers to better understand and improve their use of health care is critical to maintaining a viable system.”
— Jeff Poston, PhD, MRPharmS., Executive Director, Canadian Pharmacists Association

“The authors provide helpful information that can guide Canadians on how to manage their healthcare, including safe medication use. ISMP Canada supports efforts that improve medication safety.”
— Sylvia Hyland RPh, BScPhm, MHSc, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada

“An excellent, in depth, yet thoroughly understandable read! Definitely targeted at the issue of medication error, but applicable to all who have occasion to enter the healthcare system. I see this as an indispensible guide for all healthcare sector navigators and providers. It provides easy-to-read, practical advice and is certainly one book I will have available for my patients.”
— Ken Buchholz, Senior Physician Advisor, Nova Scotia Department of Health

Take As Directed gives Canadians a much-needed guidebook to safely navigate our encounters with health-care providers and optimize the management of our own health. In recent years, evidence indicating that our health-care system can be made safer has emerged. Here, a family physician and a pharmacy professor discuss the role each of us can play in achieving the best and safest possible health outcome for ourselves and our families. In clear and engaging language, Take As Directed walks the reader through the call to the family doctors receptionist, the examination room encounter, the pharmacy counter, a visit to the emergency department, and a stay on the hospital ward, and outlines common pitfalls in these encounters. Health-care consumers will learn how to provide critical information to their caregivers and know what information they must obtain from them. Since 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.

Take As Directed is the first and definitive source book to:

All health-care consumers will benefit from the sage voices of the authors, two of Canadas most respected health-care professionals.

• offer down-to-earth advice on how Canadians can obtain good health care, even in a “sick” system.
• outline communication styles of health-care providers and offer tried-and-true tips and tricks on dealing with various “bedside manners.”
• offer guidance on optimizing the use of medications at home and reducing the chances of experiencing an adverse drug event, one of the commonest reasons for visits to Canadian emergency departments.
• identify trustworthy sources of health and medication information on the web.