New Online Tool Allows HCPS To Simply Check Interactions Between Complementary And Prescription Medicines

A new online tool for quickly and simply checking interactions between complementary and prescription medicines will officially launch at this weekend’s 2016 Blackmores Institute Symposium.

Designed exclusively for healthcare professionals, this easy-to-use, free, evidence-based tool is available online at blackmoresinstitute.org.

The tool will be showcased to more than 200 pharmacist delegates attending the Symposium.

Blackmores Institute Director Dr Lesley Braun said:

“Pharmacists have cited the need for practice-ready tools to support their counselling of patients in the quality use of complementary medicines and this tool has been developed in direct response to these requests.

“We believe that education is fundamental in helping pharmacists, doctors and other health professionals translate evidence into practice, to safely integrate natural medicine into patient care,” Dr Braun said.

Testament to this, the Symposium’s Keynote Address: Drug/Herb/Nutrient/ interactions: the helpful and the harmful presented by Associate Professor, Dr Forrest Batz, from the University of Hawaii‘s Department of Pharmacy Practice, will discuss case studies and in-depth strategies to both maximise the therapeutic advantage of, or otherwise prevent specific supplement-drug interactions.

Dr Braun explained it is well known by healthcare professionals that some complementary medicines can interact with certain medications, or there can sometimes be an increase or decrease in the efficacy of complementary and prescription therapies when used in conjunction with one another.

The online Complementary Medicine Interactions Guide, peer reviewed by medical and pharmacy experts, will allow healthcare professionals to access frontline, evidence-based information about the nature and mechanisms of how complementary medicines work alongside conventional treatment by simply clicking on an ingredient list or using a search tool.

“This new tool offers current, evidence-based information at the click of a button to identify potential interactions. And it’s been designed to be simple and responsive to give healthcare professionals the confidence to access during a consultation”.

To access the Complementary Medicine Interactions Guide, visit www.blackmoresinstitute.org. As this service is available exclusively to healthcare professionals, a simple one-off registration will be required.