Drug interaction checkers are common to most EHRs and e-prescribing solutions, but while other types of drug-interaction software will alert you about how two medications could potentially interact, they don’t take into account the effects multiple medications combined could have on each other.

These cumulative interactions are more likely to be problematic than a single drug-drug interaction because they are more complex and often additive. In these scenarios, the magnitude of the increase or decrease in drug levels is greater than that of a single drug-drug interaction.

For example, a patient who metabolizes medications normally through the CYP2C19 pathway may not notice effects of the drug-drug interaction between citalopram (Celexa), used to treat depression, and omeprazole (Prilosec), used to treat acid reflux disease. However, if that patient were a CYP2C19 intermediate metabolizer, he or she may experience adverse effects from citalopram as a result of this cumulative drugdrug- gene interaction.

The YouScript Personalized Prescribing software can detect interactions between three or more medications through its cumulative interactions feature, then suggest alternatives with a lower risk of interactions. YouScript is the only software able to do so.

The cumulative interactions feature is the foundation for every drug and phenotype interaction analysis performed in the YouScript software. YouScript combines pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions documented in clinical literature with a patented algorithm that mimics how the human body would metabolize multiple medications to predict changes in drug-levels and clinical effects. This allows YouScript to evaluate the combined effect of a patient’s genetics and their entire drug regimen.

The software then ranks all identified interactions in order of potential harm to the patient and color codes them for quicker review. The closer to red an interaction is, the more potentially serious it could be. Cumulative interactions are often more significant, and this is reflected in the ranking. With a simple click on the medication name in the YouScript interaction report, providers can review detailed information on how two or more drugs will likely interact and the evidence behind each determination.

By providing clear, actionable guidance, YouScript helps clinicians address the complexities of drug interactions and reduce trial-and-error prescribing. Visit the YouScript website for a free trial.