In the majority of cases, online interaction checkers might be OK. But please be aware that there's more to drug interactions than using online checkers.

You can have a drug interaction that is red-flagged but can be deemed harmless depending the patient's medical background (QT prolongation). In other cases the interaction can be undocumented, and relies on the instinct and knowledge of the medical professional to piece together the pharmacology and make a judgement of the risk to the patient (co-sedating drugs, drugs that are processed by CYP2C19 vs CYP3A4 enzymes -- there's a big difference).

Also need to take into consideration the timeline of administration. Some drugs clear very slowly from the body, and simply taking one drug after the other is discontinued can be a dangerous assumption to make (antipsychotics).

There are a lot of other interactions that are flagged, but after careful appraisal of the evidence, they're not that much of a concern to the patient.

Also consider route of administration. Does taking a transdermal patch interact with an oral medication? What about eyedrops and inhalers? What are the absorption/distribution/metabolic/excretion characteristics of the drug? Peak drug concentration levels?

Some of these details are picked up online. But you need to be aware of fundamental gaps in your understanding of medicine. It's like being a self-taught developer. Sure you can learn enough on your own to be useful, but without the years of theory and fundamentals, you will hit a roadblock which can be costly.

You're fortunate to have both the intelligence and the time to do that effectively. Not everyone has the capability to assemble, decipher, and fully understand that information.

In my opinion, everyone should take the time to study the drugs that they are prescribed, as well as the interactions to foods and supplements. I believe this is more important that anything related to one's career or investments. You only get one body.

The guy sitting in the local fatburger downing the 128 oz of full sugar soda hasn't even bothered to understand their basic nutritional requirements - drug interactions are going to be waaayyy beyond them.

It sounds to me as if you're failing to grasp just how difficult that is to do for at least 80% of the population.

I completely understand that a majority have a big learning curve ahead of them. I am just not a fan of corporations and laws targeting the lowest common denominator. I should have the ability to consent to making these decisions myself, assuming I am willing to take the risks. I would even be fine with getting a government issued certification that verifies I am educated enough to make an informed decision.

If not the Hacker News crowd, who remains to think of the 20% for whom systematic paternalism is an enormous net drag?