As an Australian first, MIMS has partnered with UnityHealth to bring an Australian evidence-based complementary V Mainstream drug interaction module to market, via its eMIMS product.
- 6% of eMIMS users have indicated that they are concerned about interactions between prescription medicines & complementary medicines, stating that this interactions module gives them more confidence in making a safer choice for their patients. 1
From customer research and feedback, MIMS understands that the type of evidence based information within this drug interactions module is in high demand.
For healthcare professionals, the primary barrier to recommending complementary medicines (CMs) is safety concerns around patients on multiple prescription medications or with complex health issues. Also, a lack of knowledge of CMs and a perceived lack of evidence were identified as barriers. The provision of good quality educational materials was seen as important to allow pharmacists to assess levels of evidence for CMs and educate them on their safe and appropriate use. 2
- 80% of eMIMS users tell us that the (UnityHealth/IMgateway) module has been of benefit, particularly when questions go outside their current clinical knowledge. 3
Surveys by the National Prescribing Service have also found that safety and interactions between herbal medicines and prescription drugs are amongst the information most required by healthcare professionals.
Furthermore, results of the surveys showed half the people who reported the use of complementary and alternative medicines also used conventional medicines on the same day, while the majority of usages were not reported to doctors. 4
This evidence-based interactions data base has been researched and provided by the School of Pharmacy from the University of Sydney. It has been updated and expanded regularly since its inception in 2002. The data now delivers over 500 interaction modules via the unique Australian integrative medicines website, IMgateway.
MIMS and UnityHealth, the provider of IMgateway (www.imgateway.net), are excited to make available this valuable information to such a broad range of healthcare professionals and their patients.
“Because eMIMS is so resource-rich and used widely by doctors and pharmacists as well as a diverse range of other healthcare professionals, we chose it as the first MIMS product to carry this module,” said Dinah Graham from MIMS.
Ms Graham went on to say, “The IMgateway database within eMIMS will enable general practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals to retrieve evidence-based information on clinically significant drug and herb interactions. Subscribers can search a complementary medicine against a prescription medicine (or vice-versa), quickly obtain a recommendation on whether the combination should be avoided, or be alerted if caution is required.”
The wide range of digital products that MIMS has in the market means the interactions can, in the future, be delivered to the end user in a way that meets their needs and at the point of care. "There is no doubt that the use of complementary medicines is increasing and the need for evidence-based information about their impacts on prescription medicines is now integral to the needs of healthcare professionals and consumers,” Ms Graham said.
Professor Basil Roufogalis, from The University of Sydney, describes the launch as “an important development in the delivery of evidence based information on herbal/nutritional medicine interactions with pharmaceutical drugs". He went on to say: “There has been a growing demand for this information from doctors, pharmacists and other health professions. The alliance with MIMS provides an excellent opportunity to disseminate the information developed by the Herbal Medicines Research and Education Centre of the Faculty of Pharmacy more widely and for the continuation of the underlying research."
Each organisation will bring their own strengths to the partnership. Both MIMS and UnityHealth are very excited to be delivering an Australian innovation which is designed to provide health practitioners with information to reduce adverse drug-herb interactions. Increased awareness of the potential impact of interactions between herbs, supplements, foods and all medicines will be of significant benefit to the community.
Dinah Graham
MIMS Australia
Direct +61 2 9902 7760
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1,3 MIMS IMg survey October 2012
2 Factors affecting pharmacists' recommendation of complementary medicines -- a qualitative pilot study of Australian pharmacists Sarah E Culverhouse and Hans Wohlmuth BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012, 12:183 doi:10.1186/1472-6882-12-183 Published: 10 October 2012
4 November 30, 2009 ‘Database highlights hazardous drug combinations’ Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au
ABOUT MIMS AUSTRALIA
MIMS is the leading supplier of quality, independent medical information to Australian healthcare professionals. Today, MIMS not only offers traditional print information sources, we also reflect the rapidly changing advances in information delivery with new platforms from PDAs to the Internet. But for all the changes, one thing remains the same - the editorial integrity and independence of all the healthcare knowledge delivered through the MIMS name.
We supply the most current, practical and accessible knowledge to assist healthcare professionals practice effectively in the real world.
Our strategy is to work directly with healthcare providers and with the leading healthcare IT suppliers to make the best evidence-based decision support tools available at the point of care. MIMS is unique in its ability to combine internationally referenced alert tools with comprehensive local product information, all delivered to IT partners through a common interface.
MIMS is a subsidiary of UBM Medica, part of United Business Media Plc., an international media and business Information Company employing more than 5,000 people in over 30 countries around the world.
ABOUT UnityHealth Pty Ltd
UnityHealth Pty Ltd, founded in 2001, is supported by an expert panel of leading healthcare professionals, including research specialists in the field of complementary medicine from the University of Sydney. Our electronic products include IMgateway, which focuses on evidence-based complementary medicine information and education services on a range of medical conditions, herbs, supplements and drug interactions (adverse or positive). IMgateway has been developed according to best practice principles, to address the needs of time-poor practitioners, research centres, hospitals, corporations, pharmaceutical companies and community groups.
Miriam Ronagh
Senior Product Manager
UnityHealth Pty Ltd
Phone: 1300 864 894
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,au
www.unityhelath.com.au