Physicians need to know which medications you are taking

By Timothy Tracy, Ph.D.

Women's use of all medications including herbal supplements and over-the-counter remedies is higher than most health providers realize, and most women aren't likely to tell their health care providers what medications they're taking. It's a finding that holds the potential for serious and dangerous drug interactions.

I was one of the lead researchers in a study looking at medication use among women. What we found not only surprised us but also caused concern. While the study focused on women, the results can be applied to the population as a whole.

We found that health care providers need to spend more time asking patients about medication usage. But we also learned that patients need to be more forthcoming about the medications they take and remember to tell their providers about all medications, not just the ones he or she prescribed.

We interviewed more than 570 patients and discovered that 92 percent of them took prescription medications, and 96.5 percent self-medicated with an over-the-counter medication. We also learned that 59.1 percent used herbal supplements.

But very few patients would tell their physicians about a medication unless that physician prescribed the medication. For example, patients didn't always tell their gynecologist that they were taking high blood pressure medication prescribed by another physician. We've found that patients don't think that the physician needs to know about the condition if he or she isn't treating it or prescribing the medication. That's not true: It's critically important for each provider to know what medications you're taking.

We found that patients didn't initially report use of medications such as aspirin or St. John's Wort unless they were specifically asked. Most patients didn't consider them to be important medications. In reality, aspirin and St. John's Wort can dangerously interact with prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal medications.

Moreover, we found that patients often didn't remember what medications they took until they were asked specific questions such as "Do you take anything for headaches?" or "Do you take anything for an upset stomach?"

Before you head to your next appointment, take five minutes and make a list of the medications prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal you've taken in the last 12 months. Open your medicine cabinet or look in the pill dispenser on your counter to jog your memory. And if providers don't ask what medications you're taking, tell them. You could be preventing serious problems, and you're taking the important step of having an active role in your health care.