CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Family Medicine, 5th Edition

Family medicine asks clinicians to think across ages, conditions, and the realities of patients’ lives. CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Family Medicine, 5th Edition brings that wide-ranging work into one clinical reference, with chapters arranged from childhood and adolescence through adult and geriatric care.

Edited by Jeannette E. South-Paul, Samuel C. Matheny, and Evelyn L. Lewis, this 2020 edition covers common clinical conditions alongside prevention, mental health, therapeutics, and the physician-patient relationship. Its breadth makes it relevant both for looking up a focused topic and for reviewing the scope of primary care.

Care organized across the lifespan

The book begins with infancy and childhood, then moves through adolescent health, adult medicine, and geriatrics. Topics in the contents include well-child care, common infections, sexual health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal complaints, healthy aging, and geriatric assessment. This developmental structure helps readers locate material in the context of the patients and life stages they encounter.

Clinical topics beyond diagnosis

Later sections broaden the focus to pharmacotherapy, genetics, prevention, and complementary and integrative health. Separate chapters address psychological disorders and physician-patient issues, including cultural and linguistic competence, healthcare disparities, care for LGBTQIA patients, palliative medicine, and telemedicine. The result is a reference that treats primary care as more than a list of diseases: it also considers prevention, communication, and care across complex circumstances.

A reference for study and practice

The publisher describes the book as an aid for primary care trainees and practicing physicians, as well as for USMLE Step 3 review and family medicine board certification and recertification preparation. Its range of subjects may also make it useful to advanced practice nurses and physician assistants seeking a broad family medicine reference.

Clinical note: This edition was published in 2020. Medical knowledge and recommendations can change, so use current clinical guidelines and drug information when making patient-care decisions.