Summary

Pharmacodynamic mechanisms relate to drugs-receptor interactions and provide quantitative information that is the basis for determining efficacy, potency, and toxicity of drugs. Pharmacokinetic processes underlie the fate of drugs within the body, i.e., provide the basis for understanding how drugs reach their receptors and factors essential to maintain therapeutic steady-state concentration for optimum efficacy and safety.

Pharmacotherapy relates to the use of drugs in the prevention and treatment of disease predicated on the application of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic principles. It requires critical thinking skills forged during long hours of clinical practice and a life-long commitment to the disciplined study of drug- and patient-related variables. Fostered by a sincere desire to maximize therapeutic benefits, clinicians should prescribe drugs with great care.