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PharmaGuide

Methodology

The science behind the guidance.

How we collect, verify, and ship the interaction data that powers PharmaGuide — including who reviews it, what AI does and doesn't do, and where we draw the line.

01 · Why methodology matters

In a market full of opinions, we show our work.

  • 01

    Traceability

    Interaction guidance is traceable to regulatory sources, peer-reviewed publications, or professional references. No anonymous claims.

  • 02

    Accuracy

    Content is verified against primary sources and reviewed by licensed clinicians before it ships. Updates are dated and visible.

  • 03

    Accountability

    We say what we do — and what we don't. The boundaries are explicit. No marketing-speak hiding the limits.

02 · Where our data comes from

Four primary sources. No anonymous claims.

  • FDA

    FDA Resources

    • Recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts
    • Warning letters and import alerts
    • Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) records

    Recalls · safety alerts · manufacturing disclosures

  • NIH

    NIH Resources

    • Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
    • Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD)
    • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
    • DailyMed (drug labeling)
    • Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database

    Ingredient information · efficacy research · safety profiles

  • PUB

    Clinical Literature

    • PubMed / MEDLINE
    • Cochrane Library systematic reviews
    • Journal of Dietary Supplements
    • Drug-nutrient interaction studies

    Interaction mechanisms · clinical evidence · contraindications

  • PRO

    Professional Resources

    • Natural Medicines Database
    • Clinical pharmacology references
    • Drug interaction databases
    • Professional society guidelines

    Cross-referencing interactions · clinical context

We do not access medical records, pharmacy systems, or any personal health data outside what you put into the app.

03 · How the engine works

From a scanned product to a verdict.

Every check runs through the same six-stage pipeline — most of it on your device. Here's what happens between the scan and the score.

  1. 01

    Catalog match

    A scan or search resolves to a specific product in a catalog that lives on your device, sourced from NIH's 200,000+ supplement labels — so identification happens in milliseconds, offline, without a round-trip to a server.

    NIH label source · on-device · sub-10ms lookup

  2. 02

    Ingredient normalization

    Active and inactive ingredients are parsed and mapped to canonical identities — and proprietary blends are read exactly as printed: the blend total and the ingredients inside are known, the undisclosed amounts stay unknown and are never estimated.

    Actives + inactives · proprietary blends as disclosed

  3. 03

    Interaction detection

    Your stack is analyzed as a system, not one bottle at a time: supplement–supplement, supplement–drug, and drug–drug interactions, cross-product dose summation, and timing conflicts are each checked against the rules library.

    Multi-way · dose summation · timing conflicts

  4. 04

    Personal gating

    Every result is filtered through your profile — conditions, medications, age, and goals. Irrelevant warnings stay hidden; a medication that's risky given one of your conditions is surfaced as a flag.

    Condition · medication · drug↔condition flags

  5. 05

    Accumulation tracking

    Each nutrient is summed across the entire stack and measured against its Recommended Daily Allowance and Tolerable Upper Intake Level — so three products quietly stacking the same mineral don't slip past the safe ceiling.

    RDA + UL per nutrient · across the full stack

  6. 06

    Recall & safety sync

    The products in your stack are checked against FDA recalls and banned or adulterant ingredients, so a bottle in your stack doesn't quietly become unsafe without you hearing about it.

    FDA recalls · banned and adulterant ingredients

The six stages resolve to one verdict

OptimizedSolidDecentNeeds reviewUnsafe

See it in action

One real interaction, end to end.

The card below follows the same structure used by our interaction-rules pipeline — same sources, same evidence levels, same reviewer signature.

Specimen · ATORVASTATIN ↔ CoQ10

Good to knowEvidence · Established

Mechanism

Statins inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, the same early step of the mevalonate pathway the body uses to make CoQ10. Placebo-controlled trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, show statin therapy lowers CoQ10 measured in blood. Whether that causes the muscle symptoms some people report is not established, and trials of CoQ10 supplements disagree.

Recommended action

Statins can lower circulating CoQ10 levels. It is uncertain whether this contributes to muscle symptoms or whether CoQ10 supplements consistently help. Discuss persistent muscle symptoms with your prescriber, and do not stop a statin on your own.

Sources (4)

Approved by PharmaGuide Clinical Team

Approved 2026-07-27

Want the deeper read? Read the statins + CoQ10 deep dive →

04 · How we verify content

From source to verdict, every interaction.

  1. 01

    Source identification

    We start from authoritative sources only — peer-reviewed, government-published, or recognized by professional clinical societies. No blog posts, no influencer claims, no unverified registries.

  2. 02

    Data extraction and analysis

    Information is structured into ingredient profiles with explicit citations. Each interaction is mapped to its mechanism, evidence level, and clinical context.

    Output · Structured ingredient profiles with cited sources
  3. 03

    Pharmacist verification

    A licensed clinical pharmacist reviews interaction guidance before it ships — checking the science, the framing, and the recommendation against current practice standards.

    Reviewer · Laurie Pham, PharmD
  4. 04

    Clinical advisory review

    A second reviewer reads from the patient-education angle: is the language clear, the framing accessible, the safety context unambiguous?

    Reviewer · Miriam Farez, NP
  5. 05

    Publication and ongoing monitoring

    Once published, content goes into an ongoing review cycle. FDA alerts, new research, or regulatory changes trigger immediate updates.

    Schedule · Quarterly systematic reviews + priority alerts as needed

05 · Medical advisory team

Clinical review behind the guidance.

  • Laurie Pham

    Laurie Pham, PharmD

    Doctor of Pharmacy

    PharmD · 15+ years pharmacovigilance

    Focus · Drug-supplement interactions · pharmacovigilance · clinical accuracy review

  • Miriam Farez

    Miriam Farez, NP

    Nurse Practitioner

    NP · Integrative health practice

    Focus · Patient education · integrative health · content accessibility

06 · AI transparency

AI does some of the work. Humans do the rest.

We use AI to scale the parts that benefit from scale. We use clinicians for everything else. Here's exactly where the line is.

What AI does

  • Process and structure data from multiple sources
  • Identify potential interactions documented in the literature
  • Generate initial drafts of educational content
  • Power the AI Guidance Chat for in-app questions

What AI does not do

  • Generate original research or clinical recommendations
  • Diagnose medical conditions or symptoms
  • Recommend specific treatments or dosages
  • Access personal health records or medical history
  • Replace the judgment of a licensed healthcare professional

07 · Limitations and scope

Built to inform. Not to replace.

PharmaGuide is

  • An educational information platform
  • A tool to support informed conversations with your healthcare provider
  • A resource for understanding documented interactions
  • Reviewed by licensed healthcare professionals

PharmaGuide is not

  • A medical device or diagnostic tool
  • A replacement for professional medical advice
  • A source of treatment recommendations
  • A guarantee of supplement safety or efficacy

Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.

Want to see it in action?

The methodology is the foundation. The product is the proof.

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