2021 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 138-147
In recent years, supplements have been sold widely in drug stores and online, but caution needs to be exercised with regard to their interactions with pharmaceutical agents. We provided advice and information on interactions between pharmaceutical agents and supplements to health insurance pharmacy customers who wanted them, using the Natural Medicines Database (NMDB). We then conducted a questionnaire survey between May 15 and June 15, 2020 of 125 people who received consultations based on the NMDB. Interactions that required special attention were discovered in 10 people (8%), and appropriate guidance was given. The questionnaire survey revealed that 48.3% of all respondents used supplements, while 65.3% said that they wanted to check for interactions. This suggests a certain need for pharmacy customers to check interactions between pharmaceutical agents and supplements, and that providing accurate information using the NMDB or other databases may lead to functional improvements at pharmacies.
