The book benefits from the same landscape format and approach as Scion's bestselling Essential Examination.

Each class of drug is detailed using a common tabular format, based on the following sections:
Examples, Mode of Action, Routes of Delivery, Indications, Cautions and contraindications, Interactions, Monitoring, Side-effects, Patient counseling.

This consistent approach helps the reader quickly find the pertinent information for the common drugs and situations they are likely to come across, so they can become confident of prescribing the correct drugs for the patient in appropriate doses.

The book also features a questions and answer section at the book for the reader to assess their knowledge.

All medical students and foundation doctors now have to prove their prescribing competence by taking the recently-introduced Prescribing Safety Assessment. Essential Prescribing will not only arm the reader with the key knowledge for this assessment, but will also provide them with the core prescribing knowledge they will need as their medical careers progress.