How to Prevent Drug Interactions
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“It’s important to go to a clinician who has some experience with anti-retroviral medications so that there’s no overdosing or underdosing,” Dr. Chow adds.Pharmacists can also be great sources of information about interactions with both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, says Raymond Alejo, RN, a community health nurse with the Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center in Honolulu. “Pharmacists are playing a much bigger role in patient teaching than they did when I first started,” says Alejo, who’s provided HIV services in Hawai’i for more than 25 years. “I really like that, because what happens is that they’ll tell the patient, then they’ll also tell the healthcare provider about it.”
But Blumenthal notes that this communication may not always occur or your pharmacist may flag an interaction that your provider has already deemed acceptable. “If you do start an over-the-counter medication,” she says, “it’s probably best practice to message your provider and ask, ‘Is it okay? Is there any reason I can’t take this medication?’”
Here are some other simple steps you can take to prevent drug interactions.
- Read drug labels and package inserts thoroughly (these will list known interactions).
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- Keep a complete, updated medication list, including your prescriptions, OTC drugs, recreational drugs, and supplements.
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- Loop in every prescriber and provider, who may not know about your full medication regimen.
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- Use a trusted interaction tracker, such as the University of Liverpool’s HIV drug interaction checker.
