Improving Screening and Provider Comfort with Counseling for Dietary Supplement Use at the University of Utah Student Health Clinic

Background: It is estimated that 57.6% of Americans have used at least one dietary supplement in the past 30 days. Using dietary supplements places patients at risk for adverse drug reactions. It is standard of care to assess for dietary supplement use. Implementing a toolkit to support providers in screening and counseling patients will help ensure the standard of care is met. Local Problem: There was no active in-depth screening form for dietary supplement use within this clinic. Providers did not feel confident when counseling patients in dietary supplement use. Methods: A quality improvement project was developed to help increase screening for dietary supplement use along with increasing provider comfort when they counsel patients who self- select dietary supplements. A toolkit was created that included an educational presentation, surveys, a resource sheet, a new patient intake form, and a provider flipbook. The flipbook detailed common dietary supplements, their uses, adverse reactions, and drug interactions. Interventions: The toolkit was administered in an all-staff educational session. The surveys were administered to the providers pre-education, post-education, and one-month post- intervention. Results: Post-intervention, the study found that 77% (n=177) of new patients seen in the clinic were screened for dietary supplements. Provider knowledge about dietary supplements increased on average by 17%. Providers' screening habits increased by 33% (n=2). Overall, the toolkit was found to be usable, feasible, and providers felt satisfied with the toolkit. Conclusions: The toolkit appeared to be a valuable instrument in increasing providers' comfort and screening habits for dietary supplement use. This toolkit should be digitized and implemented into the electronic medical record.