Do patients tell their clinicians they are using both prescribed and over the counter allopathic and traditional medicines?

ObjectiveTo investigate the simultaneous use of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicines across allopathic western medicine (WM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) modalities amongst urban Chinese patients.MethodSecondary analysis of the Hong Kong population representative Thematic Household Survey 2007 dataset (n = 28,923, response rate 76.8%).ResultsOf the enumerated population, 1.9% reported ever having used TCM OTC medications and WM prescription medicine simultaneously, of whom 59.3% did not disclose this to their WM doctors. Of respondents, 1.3% reported figure co-usage of WM OTC and TCM prescription medicines and 40.1% did not disclose this to their TCM practitioners. The top two reasons for non-disclosure were: the belief that WM and TCM medicines do not interact with each other, and clinicians did not initiate the discussion. Those with regular healthcare providers were more likely to disclose their co-usage. The majority of respondents cited healthcare professionals as their main source of information for OTC products.ConclusionSince self medication is common, clinicians should proactively ask patients about their medication in both modalities of care; and provide appropriate education on potential risks. The population prefers to integrate WM and TCM under supervision of both types of clinicians, instead of making their own choices on medication use across modalities.DiscussionPolicy makers should enhance interprofessional education for and communication between WM and TCM clinicians. However, further research on patients' knowledge of herb-drug interactions, as well as accurate ascertainment of co-utilization patterns for each modality is needed before drawing firmer conclusions.