The Family Practice Desk Reference. Fourth edition. Edited by Charles E. Driscoll and Edward T. Bope. 1035 pp, illustrated. Chicago, American Medical Association, 2003. $49.95 (paper). ISBN 1–57947-190–0.

The fourth edition of The Family Practice Desk Reference, edited by two well-known family physicians, Charles E. Driscoll and Edward T. Bope, has recently been published by the American Medical Association. The book has 22 contributors drawn from practicing family physicians, family medicine residency faculty, and family medicine senior residents.

As clearly stated in the preface, the primary objective of The Family Practice Desk Reference is to provide the necessary nuggets of information about the most common conditions encountered by family physicians. To this end, the book is a great success. It is full of information that is displayed in a succinct manner, often in the format of a table or flowchart. The breadth of topics is impressive; the book touches on almost every patient problem that any busy physician might treat.

The clever organization scheme used to develop this book approximates the day-to-day clinic life of a family physician and embraces the foundation of the discipline of family medicine. It has two main sections. The first part, organized around a life-cycle approach, contains chapters on maternity care, care of children, men’s health, care of the older adult, and family-centered care. The second part, organized around body systems, contains chapters on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, infections, musculoskeletal conditions, and so on. At the front of each chapter is a short list of all the topics addressed in that chapter, which makes up for a brief table of contents that is nothing more than a list of chapter titles. As a result, navigating the book for particular points is relatively easy. The chapters tend to be organized with descriptions and definitions first, then differential diagnoses and appropriate testing, and finally management and treatment options. This format mirrors what family physicians do every day. Simple procedures are described in sufficient detail to use this book as a guide.

The text is interspersed with numerous illustrations, both line drawings and photographs. All illustrations are in black and white and are easy to understand. The cardiology chapter has many electrocardiogram tracings that are clear and easy to recognize. The flowcharts are excellent; they provide adequate information without being crowded with text. A few tables and flowcharts have been set sideways on the page.

Overall, this fourth edition of The Family Practice Desk Reference is excellent, and any practicing family physician would find it extremely useful. It is loaded with accurate, practical information that is easy to find and follow. Residents would also find this book particularly useful during clinic. I recommend this book highly.