title: Herbal use amongst multiethnic medical patients in Penang Hospital: pattern and perceptions.
abstract: A cross sectional survey on pattern and perception of herbal use among medical patients in Penang Hospital was conducted. Among 250 patients surveyed, 67.9% were using herbal medicine and conventional medicine concomitantly. A majority of the patients used herbs for health maintenance (51.3%) purpose. More than 90% of herbal users did not disclose herbal use to their physician and "Doctor never asked" was the major reason given (54.2%). The Chinese reported the highest rate of herbal use but was least likely to disclose. These findings are important for health professionals to ensure medication safety and recognise potential drug herb interaction.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University College Sedaya International, No 1, Jalan Menara Goding, UCSI Heights, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bahari
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D028321:Plant Preparations