Health Services Insights

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are particularly susceptible to drug-drug interactions (DDIs). Practitioners should keep themselves updated with the most current DDI information, particularly involving new anticancer drugs (ACDs). Databases can be useful to obtain up-to-date DDI information in a timely and efficient manner. Our objective was to investigate the DDI information sources of pharmacy practitioners in Asia and their views on the usefulness of an oncology-specific database for ACD interactions. A qualitative, cross-sectional survey was done to collect information on the respondents’ practice characteristics, sources of DDI information and parameters useful in an ACD interaction database. Response rate was 49%. Electronic databases (70%), drug interaction textbooks (69%) and drug compendia (64%) were most commonly used. Majority (93%) indicated that a database catering towards ACD interactions was useful. Essential parameters that should be included in the database were the mechanism and severity of the detected interaction, and the presence of a management plan (98% each). This study has improved our understanding on the usefulness of various DDI information sources for ACD interactions among pharmacy practitioners in Asia. An oncology-specific DDI database targeting ACD interactions is definitely attractive for clinical practice.