The 8th annual MEDMARX® Data Report released today by the U.S. Pharmacopia (USP) states that medication mix-ups are on the rise due to a proliferation of drugs with similar names and/or packaging. In fact, from 2003 – 2006, more than 1,400 commonly used drugs were involved in errors linked to drug names (brand and generic) that look alike or sound alike.
According to findings in the MEDMARX report, 1.4% of the errors resulted in patient harm, including seven errors that may have caused or contributed to patient deaths. However, due to widespread underreporting of incidents, the study's authors believe that the number of adverse events resulting from look-alike/sound-alike errors is actually understated.

"Errors resulting from look-alike/sound-alike drugs are a problem that spans the entire health care system," said Darrell Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., chief science officer, USP. "By recording and communicating not only the name of the drug, but also what it is being used for, prescribers, pharmacists and consumers can work together to dramatically reduce these types of medication errors."

According to the USP:

Consumers picking up prescriptions should check the indication for use appearing
on the drug's label or ask their pharmacist for this information. If the
indication given by the pharmacy is different from what the prescriber said the
medication is for, that is a red flag for the consumer to ask questions.
Consumers should also exercise their right to receive counseling from the
pharmacist every time they begin a new medication to ensure they know the name
of the drug and its pronunciation, what it is and how to take it.

Recently, several hospitals have administered heparin overdoses to infants due to a look-alike medication error. Read more about heparin overdoses.

To contact Pritzker Ruohonen regarding a medication error, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's free consultation form.

Labels: look-alike drugs, medication error, sound-alike drug names