As people age or become less healthy, their treatment plans too, become more complex. It is common for a person with multiple morbidities to have a long list of prescribed medications. Treatment plans are usually discussed in detail, but what is often overlooked is the mention of potential drug interactions. Pharmacists play a crucial role in patient education and safety in relation to drug interactions.
Pharmacists contribute to the health of the community in many ways. But those who directly interact with patients also have the responsibility to provide accurate information about the medicines they dispense. Customers consult about a drug’s purpose, effect, dosage, frequency, and more. For this reason, a pharmacist greatly influences how a patient is able to comply with prescribed treatment.
What is a drug interaction?
A drug interaction is defined as an occurrence “when a patient’s response to a drug is modified by food, nutritional supplements, formulation excipients, environmental factors, other drugs or disease.” This means even if a patient complies to a certain treatment to a tee, he or she might still not get the best results—or even put themselves in harm’s way—if they take or do something that influences the effect of the ingested drug.
There are three types:
- Drug-drug interaction (DDI) – occurs when two or more drugs react to one another, e.g. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may increase blood pressure, thereby reducing the efficacy of an antihypertensive medicine
- Drug-food interaction – occurs when a drug reacts to a certain food or a beverage, e.g. drinking alcohol while on certain medications may result in failed treatment, dizziness, sleepiness, etc.
- Drug-condition interaction – occurs when a drug addressing one condition can provide potential harm in relation to another existing medical condition, e.g. some medications for hypertension can worsen asthma symptoms
Drug-drug interactions, in particular, can be dissected further into:
- Pharmacokinetics DDI – happens when a drug affects the concentration of another drug
- Pharmacodynamics DDI – happens when drugs with opposing or additive effects interact, resulting in compromised functionality
What you can do
As pharmacists, there are several ways to help promote awareness about drug interactions.
- Keep learning. Pharmaceutical and clinical practice involve continuing education. Be informed about drug histories, and stay updated about new treatments coming out in the market. Keep track of few commonly purchased medications and their drug interactions to build a personal knowledge bank.
- Refer to credible sources. When in doubt, access verified data systems that account for possible drug interactions. You may also seek the guidance of medical or health professionals.
- Double-check everything. As part of the team tending to the health of patients, it is important to review the prescribed treatment and flag any potential drug interactions that would dilute, invalidate, or worsen the intended effect.
- Educate and remind. As persons with influence in the pharmacy/clinical setting, it is important to equip patients with the right information about the drugs they are taking and the potential risks involved. Encourage customer behavior of openly discussing drug interaction risks with physicians.
All drug interactions must be taken seriously because they can either provide benefit or harm to a patient. In healthcare, this is unacceptable because nothing should be left to chance. Treatment plans are developed to help a patient recover, not get worse.
It is important to remember that at the heart of healthcare is patient care. The healthcare community’s efforts to educate consumers about potential drug interactions must therefore be prioritized to help prevent avoidable harm, hospitalization, or death among patients.
General disclaimer
Your doctor will always be in the best position to give the appropriate medical advice for your condition. For suspected undesirable drug reactions, seek medical attention immediately and report to the FDA at www.fda.gov.ph and UNILAB, Inc. at 8-UNILAB-1 or productsafety@unilab.com.ph. Always buy your medicine from your trusted drugstores and retailers.
