Introducing the Plumb’s Drug Interaction Checker

April 29, 2021
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As veterinarians, we have more ways than ever to help our patients live longer, healthier lives. But as a result, we also have more patients on multiple medications—which means greater risk for drug interactions.

As veterinarians, we have more ways than ever to help our patients live longer, healthier lives. But as a result, we also have more patients on multiple medications—which means greater risk for drug interactions.

From the kitten you anesthetized this morning to the geriatric Yorkshire terrier you saw right before closing—who inevitably had tracheal collapse, mitral valve disease, arthritis, and now suspected cognitive dysfunction—you’re constantly juggling the pros and cons of different drug combinations.

Since there’s rarely time to review and cross-reference every medication, we often rely on memory for the most significant drug interactions and spot-check the rest. What’s often riskiest for our patients is when we use a standard protocol and don’t know there’s a potential for problems.

The Missing Piece

It occurred to us—and surely to many of you—that there must be a better way.

Some veterinarians are already using digital drug interaction checkers meant for physicians. But, as any veterinarian who’s been prescribed an NSAID and a corticosteroid at the same time can tell you, we need something a bit more species-specific.   

And that’s why we are excited to introduce you to the drug interaction checker* now available in Plumb’s.

<insert DIC image on laptop>

How It Works

The Plumb’s drug interaction checker is so easy to use. First, start typing in the drugs your patient is taking and select from the list that appears. 

You can enter as many drug names as you need for your patient. The drug interaction checker will automatically populate a list of one-to-one drug interactions that specify a risk level for each combination:

  • Contraindicated
  • Use with caution
    • Major
    • Moderate
    • Minor
  • No known interaction

<insert image showing interactions and risk levels, show on phone if possible>

It’ll even let you know if no data is available for a particular drug interaction. Because, as the saying goes, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

Like the rest of the content in Plumb’s Veterinary Drugs, the drug interaction checker is specific to veterinary patients. Our expert team of veterinarians and veterinary pharmacists—as well as a veterinary clinical pharmacologist—are continually reviewing and updating the content. The tool currently includes more than 25,000 potential interactions between drugs you regularly use in practice, and it will become more robust over time.

The Essential Ingredient—You

No tool will ever wholly replace your clinical judgment when choosing a patient’s drug regimen. But when it comes to staying ahead of potential problems, this tool can efficiently guide your clinical decisions and help improve patient safety.

If you’re already a Plumb’s subscriber, you don’t have to wait. Start using the drug interaction checker today.

Don’t have Plumb’s yet? It only takes a few minutes to subscribe.


*This tool is currently a beta version and is undergoing continual medical review and content updates. Results generated by the drug interaction checker represent one-to-one drug interactions only and are intended to supplement the knowledge and clinical judgment of veterinarians using this tool.