How to Reduce Drug Interactions for Safer Prescribing
Healthcare professionals have an important job. They need to make sure that when patients take medicines, those medicines work well together. Here are some simple ways to help avoid problems with drug interactions:
Get a Complete Patient History: Always ask patients about all the medications they take. This includes both prescription drugs and things they buy at the store, like vitamins and herbal supplements. For example, St. John's Wort can make some antidepressants less effective.
Use Technology: Take advantage of tools like electronic health records and drug interaction databases. Programs like Lexicomp or Epocrates can alert healthcare providers about possible interactions right away.
Check Medications Regularly: Review a patient’s list of medicines often, especially when they are going into or out of the hospital. This can help find any new drugs that could potentially interact poorly with others.
Teach Patients About Their Medications: Make sure patients understand how to take their medicines safely. For example, remind them not to take antacids within two hours of certain antibiotics, so their body can absorb the antibiotics better.
Use Pharmacogenomics: When needed, test for pharmacogenomics. This means checking how a person's genes might affect their response to medications. Knowing this can help tailor medicine choices to the person, reducing the chances of bad interactions.
By following these steps, healthcare professionals can lower the risks of drug interactions. This leads to safer treatment for patients and better health results.
How to Reduce Drug Interactions for Safer Prescribing
Healthcare professionals have an important job. They need to make sure that when patients take medicines, those medicines work well together. Here are some simple ways to help avoid problems with drug interactions:
Get a Complete Patient History: Always ask patients about all the medications they take. This includes both prescription drugs and things they buy at the store, like vitamins and herbal supplements. For example, St. John's Wort can make some antidepressants less effective.
Use Technology: Take advantage of tools like electronic health records and drug interaction databases. Programs like Lexicomp or Epocrates can alert healthcare providers about possible interactions right away.
Check Medications Regularly: Review a patient’s list of medicines often, especially when they are going into or out of the hospital. This can help find any new drugs that could potentially interact poorly with others.
Teach Patients About Their Medications: Make sure patients understand how to take their medicines safely. For example, remind them not to take antacids within two hours of certain antibiotics, so their body can absorb the antibiotics better.
Use Pharmacogenomics: When needed, test for pharmacogenomics. This means checking how a person's genes might affect their response to medications. Knowing this can help tailor medicine choices to the person, reducing the chances of bad interactions.
By following these steps, healthcare professionals can lower the risks of drug interactions. This leads to safer treatment for patients and better health results.