William Branch, Carter Smith Sr. Professor of Medicine
and director of general medicine at Grady Hospital, is editor of
the newly published Office Practice of Medicine, one of
the largest, nationally recognized medical textbooks of its kind.
Published by the W.B. Saunders Co., the book is now in its fourth
edition and is bigger and more comprehensive, with chapters written
by several School of Medicine physicians. There are 160 authors
and 99 detailed chapters, covering diseases and disorders of every
major body system and medical topics from gynecology to neurology.
The book, which has sold between 50,000 and 60,000 copies since
first published, is designed to help practitioners address the challenges
of primary care by enhancing their efficiency and clinical skills.
“Many people consider this book to be the standard for outpatient
medicine,” said Branch, who also serves as vice chair for
primary care at Emory and wrote nine chapters himself. “When
I started this book, there was no book on outpatient medicine at
the time. This book fills the void of dealing with problems that
are commonly encountered by the physician in practice.”
The textbook specifically focuses on clinical epidemiology and medical
conditions not covered in general medicine texts. Rather than concentrate
on diseases, the textbook focuses on symptoms. Problem-oriented
chapters dealing with everything from headache to lower-back pain
help clinicians better analyze a patient’s condition and other
pertinent details, including questions to ask, assessing common
disease symptoms, and ordering and interpreting tests.
The fourth edition includes 16 new chapters and an expanded nationwide
group of experts—from not only Emory’s medical school
and Emory Hospital but also Harvard and Boston universities—as
chapter authors.
Some of the new chapters include information on management of ischemic
heart disease; coronary artherosclerosis and the effects of aspirin,
oxidative stress, alcohol, and psychosocial factors; cough; medical
disorders of pregnancy; menopause and hormone replacement therapy;
preoperative assessment and care of the surgical patient; and medical
care for adolescents and young adults. There also is a reorganized
section on women’s health that includes chapters on intimate-partner
violence and benign breast disease.
“We’re not so interested in explaining a disease process,”
Branch said. “For the practicing doctor, what’s more
important is how to diagnose and treat the disease once it is encountered
in the clinical setting. We also emphasize preventive care, which
often is not emphasized in textbooks.”
Branch said that when the book was first published in 1982, it was
“quite radical” in its approach. And while there now
are similar textbooks on the market, Branch said his book is the
most detailed and provides more substantive approaches to medical
problems.
“Someone who once reviewed the book told me it provided more
information and belonged on the doctor’s desk,” Branch
said. “The book is designed to explain how the experts approach
a problem. If we’re looking at headache, we’re trying
to find out what does a true, world renowned expert in headache
do, in terms of diagnosing and treating a patient?
“We’re looking for a way of getting that information
out to the practicing doctors,” Branch continued. “We’re
looking for evidence that the average practicing doctors may not
know about.”
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