As emergency clinicians, we frequently encounter patients from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, including a growing Muslim population. This guide outlines key pharmacological considerations when caring for Muslim patients, focusing on the presence of alcohol and porcine-derived gelatin in commonly prescribed medications, two ingredients that may conflict with Islamic beliefs. Drawing from real cases and institutional data at Jefferson Health, the authors highlight how such conflicts can lead to medication refusal, delays in care, and decreased adherence.
The article presents a practical and EM-friendly framework for identifying potentially problematic ingredients using tools like the FDA’s National Drug Code (NDC) and the DailyMed database. It also offers substitution strategies and highlights that alternatives often exist, such as switching from suspensions to tablets or selecting alcohol-free formulations. Importantly, the authors explore the Islamic principles of necessity (darura) and transformation (istihalah), which allow for flexibility in life-saving situations. By integrating cultural awareness into our prescribing habits and leveraging simple EHR strategies, such as tagging “pork” as an allergy to trigger alerts, we can provide more inclusive, respectful, and effective care in the ED without adding significant burden to clinical workflows.
