The second problem, however, seems a bit more daunting. It is the authors' apparent confusion about the book's target audience. Throughout the text, the authors assume that the reader has a great understanding of the purposes, goals, and reporting structures for a pharmacovigilance professional. Yet this background information is included in Annex One, which would strike experienced readers as superfluous. A solution might have been to include the basic principles early in the book to ensure that all of readers are on the same level.

The authors' confusion is also manifest in the relative depth of the book's chapters. The basic chapters occasionally include a wealth of information, but others are somewhat sketchy. For example, the "Reference Safety Information" chapter does not include enough discussion to elucidate this complex concept. Yet the section about data management, which is largely irrelevant to new pharmacovigilance professionals, is complete and extensive. Nevertheless, new professionals would still benefit from the book because even where the information is sketchy, the text indicates areas that require investigation.

This book is highly recommended to new qualified persons for pharmacovigilance and to those who aspire to fill this important role. The value of the core material that simply and completely lays out the responsibilities for the pharmacovigilance system should not be underestimated because it can have a significant effect upon a drug company. The annexes provide information in a concise manner that will make this a valuable reference for both new and experienced pharmacovigilance professionals.