Precription Incompatibility !

There is rising concern that the ever increasing new or improved medication reaching the market may cause incompatibility problems with the medication patients are already using.  This is supposed to be covered by the consumer medicine information documents ( CMI's ) supplied with the product. In many cases these are now simply an instruction on the outer package to read these instructions online. That poses a danger for the elderly who may not be connected to the internet.

Where useful information is provided with the product it is often a number of finely printed pages heavy with medical terminology which makes them hard to read and understand.  In the vast majority of cases, the patient discards them unread.  This can cause danger and distress if there is an unexpected reaction with another medication that patient may be taking.

The Consumer Health Forum of Australia has warned that patients are not always being given consumer medicine information documents (CMI's) which pharmaceutical companies are required by law to make available.

Several illustrations of the problems possible were provided.  One patient taking a common prostate medication found it caused severe constipation, interfering with a medical procedure.  This man complained that he was not told of the side effects by either his doctor or his pharmacist, or that the medication could be harmful to those with liver damage.

The CHFA has previously issued a warning about asthma medication.   In a number of cases families have reported side effects where it has induced suicidal thoughts in children. An improvement in how warnings are provided to users is urgently needed.

There is a call for this health information to be printed by the chemist and handed to the patient with the medication, and it is suggested that this be brief, concise and in easily read form.  It is contended that sixty percent of Australian consumers have a low health literacy and it is necessary to bring these dangers explicitly to their attention.

There are two obvious opportunities to ensure that product information reaches the patient.  One is when the doctor writes the script and hands it to the patient, and the other is when that script is processed by the chemist and the medication is handed over the counter into the patients care.

In both instances, the server should be aware of what other medication the patient is taking and these are ideal opportunities to avoid incompatibility.  The other issue is to ensure that the warning is clear, precise and in terms the patient can easily understand.