A comparison of five common drug–drug interaction software programs regarding accuracy and comprehensiveness

OBJECTIVE: Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can cause failure in treatment and adverse events. DDIs screening software is an important tool to aid clinicians in the detection and management of DDIs. However, clinicians should be aware of the advantages and limitations of these programs. We compared the ability of five common DDI programs to detect clinically important DDIs. METHODS: Lexi-Interact, Micromedex Drug Interactions, iFacts, Medscape, and Epocrates were evaluated. The programs' sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were determined to assess their accuracy in detecting DDIs. The accuracy of each program was identified using 360 unknown pair interactions, taken randomly from prescriptions, and forty pairs of clinically important ones. The major reference was a clinical pharmacist alongside the Stockley's Drug Interaction and databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Comprehensiveness of each program was determined by the number of components in the drug interaction monograph. The aggregate score for accuracy and comprehensiveness was calculated. FINDINGS: Scoring 250 out of possible 400 points, Lexi-Interact and Epocrates, provided the most accurate software programs. Micromedex, Medscape, and iFacts ranked third, fourth, and fifth, scoring 236, 202, and 191, respectively. In comprehensiveness test, iFacts showed the highest score, 134 out of possible 134 points, whereas Lexi-Interact rated second, with a score of 120. Scoring 370 and 330 out of possible 534 points, Lexi-Interact and Micromedex, respectively, provided the most competent, complete, and user-friendly applications. CONCLUSION: Lexi-Interact and Micromedex showed the best performances. An increase in sensitivity is possible by the combination of more than one programs and expert pharmacist intervention.