An Assessment of Herbal Therapy Use, Adherence and Utilization of Pharmacy Services in HIV Clinics

OBJECTIVE: To assess herbal therapy use, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and pharmacy service utilization in two HIV clinics using a prospective questionnaire-based assessment. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients completed the questionnaire. Twenty-six patients (34%) reported using at least one herbal therapy; 14 (54%) reported this to their provider. Providers correctly predicted herbal therapy use in 10 (38%) patients reporting herbal therapy use. Seventy-three patients (96%) reported a high level of adherence (> 90%), while only 37% had a viral load < 80 copies/ml. Clinic and community-based pharmacy services were underutilized. CONCLUSIONS: Herbal therapy use was common, under-reported and difficult for providers to predict. Unreported herbal therapy use could lead to virologic failure as a result of unknown drug-herb interactions. Consultative pharmacy services in the clinic and retail pharmacies are underutilized.