Similar Drug Names a Leading Cause of Medication Error
The FDA recently announced plans for a pilot project to help pharmaceutical companies select safer drug names. By “safer,” they mean names that are less likely to cause medication errors, which are the most common type of medical mistakes that are made.
Within the category of medication errors, mistakes most often involve a drug with a similar name to the medication a doctor actually prescribed. The Associated Press reported in September that drug name mix-ups account for about 25 percent of the 1.5 million Americans estimated to be harmed each year from medication errors.
Some estimates put the number of deaths due to pharmacy errors at 7,000 each year. Another startling statistic is that about 5 percent of all prescriptions filled annually in the United States are incorrect.
In my firm’s experience representing victims of medication errors, about 60 percent of our cases involve drugs with those that have a name similar to the prescribed medication. Take Lamictal and Lamisil, for example. They sound similar but are very different drugs: Lamictal is a medication sometimes prescribed for patients with epilepsy or bipolar disorder. Lamisil is used to treat fungal infections in fingernails or toenails. Serzone and Seroquel also sound kind of alike, but Serzone is for depression, and Seroquel is for schizophrenia.
I’ve also read that the Alzheimer’s drug name Reminyl changed to Razadyne after two deaths occurred over mistakes with a similar-sounding drug called Amaryl, a medication used to treat diabetes. Many drugs that are spelled similarly are stocked on pharmacy shelves right next to each other, since they organize medications alphabetically.
In the age of big-box pharmacies operating under corporate pressure, financial constraints and over-burdened or under-qualified staff, it’s no wonder that mistakes occur.
Although the FDA’s pilot program is a step in the right direction, the problem of drugs with similar names is going to continue to create confusion and error in our nation’s pharmacies.
