An Australian first Consumer App linking Complementary and Prescription Medicines for Better Advice

A new, evidence-based App will be announced at a special Melbourne function tomorrow. The App will deliver better advice to consumers on how everyday foods or their complementary medicines can interact with common prescription medicines.

The Hon. Craig Ondarchie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Premier will open the new offices of UnityHealth this Friday October 25 at 10am. Also in attendance will be the local MP Member of Kew and lead executives from The University of Sydney, the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association, Pharmaceutical Guild of Australia, MIMS Australia and a large audience of community health groups, doctors, pharmacists and industry providers.

While 70 per cent of Australians take complementary medicines, most don't think to tell their doctor about them. Fifty per cent of people who take complementary medicines also take prescription medicines on the same day, unaware of the potential conflict that complementary medicines may have with their prescription medicines.

These high figures have prompted the development of a new App for consumers, independently compiled by leading Australian researchers and practitioners in Australia, and accessible via smart phones and tablets. The database alerts the consumer to a potential interaction between their prescription medicine and their complementary medicines or everyday foods, enabling more effective consultations with their pharmacist, doctor or allied healthcare professional.

The Practitioner version of this unique interactions database is already available across Australia via The Integrative Medicine Gateway (IMgateway) website and the MIMS product suite. Launched in November 2009 the database has been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney in conjunction with independent IT Australian company, UnityHealth.

UnityHealth CEO, Mr Peter De Lorenzo said that he was elated with the response from doctors at a presentation at the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association Conference, held last weekend. "Complementary medicines are often cocktails of different active ingredients and according to the evidence, some of these ingredients can make some prescription drugs less effective and may even result in adverse events".

"It is vitally important that consumers have access to trustworthy, science-based information on how to integrate their medicines wisely and safely. Through this App, consumers can select a food or their brand of complementary medicine and instantly check for any potential interactions with their prescription drugs which they can then discuss with their pharmacist or doctor." Mr De Lorenzo said.

UnityHealth was recently recognised at the Australian innovation iAWARDS where it won the 2013 Health category award and now represents Australian innovation at the Asia Pacific APICTA awards in Hong Kong on November 27.

Ms Tricia Greenway, an experienced consumer voice in the area of complementary medicine use and community needs, said the App will make a "significant contribution to the safe use of medicines for those of us looking to make well-informed choices about health and well being".

"This initiative is a demonstration of good partnerships in action and best community practice. There is a large amount of less than accurate information in the public domain. Being an evidence based interactions database makes this information more reliable for the healthcare sector," Ms Greenway said.

UnityHealth is now working with consumer groups and other healthcare groups and associations who are interested to trial the use of this database to support and address the consumer's needs.

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About UnityHealth
UnityHealth Pty Ltd is a leading, independent medical information and technology company, taking a lead in the complementary medicine industry by pulling together a consortia of leading organisations and an expert professional panel to deliver improved health quality and safety through technology innovation and integration. UnityHealth already provides medical information and education to over 40,000 pharmacists, doctors, allied health professionals and healthcare retail staff in Australia and now expanding across Asia Pacific.

For further information: Miriam Ronagh, General Manager, UnityHealth,
ph 1300 864 894 or 0401 599 543.