GPs urged to ask patients about use of complementary medicines

25 August 2010

GPs should ask patients about complementary medicine use in order to reduce the risk of adverse drug interactions.

New research has shown almost half of people in England have used complementary therapies and alternative medicines (CAM). Researchers from the Peninsular Medical School at the University of Exeter analysed more than 7600 responses to the Health Survey for England 2005, a national household survey that included questions on CAM.

And they say their results should act as a warning to GPs to check which other alternative medicines their patients may be taking that could interact with prescribed drugs.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of people had used CAM with a quarter saying they had used it in the last 12 months. Massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture were among the most commonly used therapies. But 29 per cent of respondents who were taking prescription medicines had also used CAM in the last year.

Dr Katherine Hunt, research fellow at the Peninsular Medical School, said the survey was a “valuable reminder” to GPs to routinely ask patients about their CAM use.

She said: “CAM treatments are not necessarily safe and, like all treatments, have the potential to bring about direct and indirect adverse effects.

“Herb-drug interactions have not been extensively investigated, a situation which is concerning given that the data suggests that more than a quarter of those taking medications in England were using CAM in the same 12-month period.

“To ensure patient safety, healthcare practitioners should routinely ask patients about their use of CAM and policymakers should ensure that CAM prevalence data is regularly collected, as is the case in other countries.”