Herbal and Dietary Supplements Patient Information
It has been estimated that one-third of adults in the United States use herbal products and spend more than $3 billion annually on these supplements. As many as 70% of patients using complementary medicine (including herbal products) do not inform their physician or pharmacist. Because contents of natural products are not standardized, information needed to determine the occurrence of a drug interaction or adverse effect is not frequently available or is difficult to evaluate.
It is very likely that your health care providers are not aware of any herbal or dietary supplements you currently take. The potential for interactions between natural products and traditional medications also is very likely and often goes undetermined or unreported. In some cases, only limited information is available about the effects of such interactions. Even health care professionals are learning more and more about these herbal products and their effects on a daily basis.
We are attempting to document any herbal and/or dietary product(s) you currently use in order to detect, monitor, report, and prevent any complication from therapy.
The list below outlines some of the commonly used herbal and dietary supplements.
Please review this list and let your physician or nurse know if you are currently taking any (even multivitamins).
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