Ambulatory Heart Function and Transplant Patients' Perceptions of Drug-Drug Interactions: A Qualitative Study

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can cause adverse drug events, leading to hospitalizations and an increase in the risk of morbidity and mortality. Until now, patients' perceptions of DDIs have represented an understudied area of research.

To explore patients' perceptions of DDIs and identify factors important to patients' understanding of their medications.

Participants were recruited from 2 ambulatory clinics (heart function and transplant) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Participants engaged in key informant interviews and were asked to provide their demographic information, rate their understanding of their own medications, and define a DDI. Afterward, participants were interviewed to gather their perceptions of DDIs and factors important to their understanding of their medications.

A total of 7 patients were recruited. Participants struggled to define a DDI and were unsure if they had ever experienced a DDI. There was a reliance on health care professionals to help manage DDIs. Participants did not identify barriers preventing them from accessing medication information from health care professionals; however, they independently sought medication information found on the internet.

Patients in this study had an incomplete understanding of DDIs and had difficulties differentiating DDIs from side effects of medications. As a result of their limited understanding of DDIs, patients relied on health care professionals to inform and manage their DDIs. Although patients did not identify barriers to accessing medication information, their pervasive use of the internet suggests that there are unidentified barriers preventing patients from speaking directly to their health care professionals regarding their medication therapy.