A free programme offering expert advice on the proper use of medicines has shown promise in catching potentially dangerous mistakes.

Data collected through the Know Your Medicine scheme, offered at the Bermuda Diabetes Association’s community pharmacy in Hamilton, shows that 99 per cent of participants came away with a “moderate to full understanding” of their prescription and non-prescription drugs after meeting staff.

Erika Setzu, the pharmacist in charge, described several troubling misuses of medications, often related to contraindications, that were discovered through the programme.

She told of a walk-in patient who complained of feeling faint. He had been taking three medicines for high blood pressure but no longer needed them because he had gone from being morbidly obese to an ordinary weight.

“I checked his blood pressure and it was actually very low,” she said. “We contacted his GP and recommended that he get off the medication.”

Another patient was found to be taking medication to suppress urination for her incontinence while also taking a separate diuretic drug prescribed for high blood pressure, meaning the two medications were “counteracting each other” without her realising it.

Other scenarios included patients who did not realise that garlic supplements also lower blood pressure, or that foods such as cabbage and kale are rich in vitamin K, which is a factor in blood coagulation and can interfere with blood thinning medications such as warfarin.

According to the Bermuda Diabetes Association, about half of prescriptions filled each year are not being taken correctly.

More than 10 per cent of hospital admissions involve medications being used incorrectly.

The charity, which provides the KYM service to the community at large instead of solely catering to diabetes patients, told The Royal Gazette that its programme had provided “intervention or follow-up action” that reduced side effects and improved usage in 65 per cent of cases.

For some, with the approval of patients’ doctors, the programme has been able get prescriptions removed from patients’ medicine lists.

Records for the programme, which was launched in 2020 but has expanded since last summer, show that 80 per cent of patients had “no knowledge or very little” before their consultation at the BDA centre on Dundonald Street.

“It’s been proven that increased knowledge of medications increases compliance, which improves health outcomes,” Dr Setzu said.

The programme has also cut medical costs.

“We see a lot of patients who are financially disadvantaged. Some have a misconception that branded medicines are better because they are more expensive. We can ask their doctor to give them the generic medication, which brings the price down.”

The KYM programme has grown with the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic. A second pharmacist was taken on at the BDA headquarters last August and the service has been opened to the general public.

Dr Setzu, who joined the association last November, explained: “Problems can stem from a lack of knowledge to begin with.

“You get given a new medication by your GP or a specialist and might not ask about it. People can come away with a lack of knowledge and take their medication as they feel is correct.”

Patients who are not sufficiently monitored, sometimes because of healthcare costs, may turn out to no longer need their medications.

“Some people can’t afford to go to their GP on a regular basis,” Dr Setzu said.

“We can find out how long it has been since their last bloodwork and tell the patient they probably need another check-up before we can give any advice.

“A lot of the time people are really grateful. Obviously it’s confidential, it’s free, it can go up to an hour to ask me anything.”

Appointments, available Monday through Friday, can be booked at the BDA headquarters, or through the BDA Community Pharmacy website.