Book excerpt: Using language and organization aimed directly at pharmacy technicians, Understanding Pharmacology for Pharmacy Technicians offers more than 700 pages of practical applications, safety issues and error prevention, and illustrative cases that not only explain how but why. Throughout the book, anatomy and physiology are discussed in relation to various disorders and associated pharmacotherapies to give the pharmacy technician students a context for how drugs work. Students using this book will learn the therapeutic effects of prescription medications, nonprescription medications, and alternative therapies commonly used to treat diseases affecting that system, and their adverse effects. An emphasis is placed on practical applications for the technician. What types of issues will technicians encounter at work? What is their role in patient education? How do they work with the pharmacist? Key features throughout the book: 77 case studies, including 249 case study questions More than 1,200 drugs discussed Pronunciations for difficult terms or words such as disease names Numerous figures and illustrations Alerts that point out areas of potential dangers or errors, including look-alike/sound-alike drugs. 335 practice points, including mention of any FDA-required patient medication guides, and any “special” drug storage and dispensing considerations, including beyond-use dating of open multi-use products. 110 commonly used and comprehensive drug tables. Chapter review questions The book’s content is written to meet ASHP accreditation standards and, therefore, is one of the most comprehensive books on the market related to pharmacology for technicians. For additional resources related to the book, visit www.ashp.org/techpharmacology.