Sound-alike drugs cause mix-up errors

Three years ago, Johnson & Johnson changed the name of its Alzheimer's drug Reminyl because doctors and pharmacists were confusing it with the diabetes medication Amaryl.

[OMGWTF]

Doctors writing the indication on the prescription would cut these mixups by 95%. And at least the Cefazolin mixup given as an example keeps the mix up in the same class of drugs.

[sad]

what I dont understand, is that with ALL these technological advances in medicine, prescriptions are still written on little notepads and taken to a pharmacy. if it were electronically done there would be NO mix up because people would actually understand what the doctors are writing.

[AMLT]

sad wrote:

what I dont understand, is that with ALL these technological advances in medicine, prescriptions are still written on little notepads and taken to a pharmacy. if it were electronically done there would be NO mix up because people would actually understand what the doctors are writing.

They already have electronic prescription systems, but the fact that most doctors are unable or unwilling to keep up with these advances makes it hard to make it a standard practice. I think as the new generation of doctors start taking over we'll see this happen. Not to mention the cost of buying the software, maintaining data integrity, and security. It has it's pros and cons as well.

Either way though, we should all really try to also be proactive by listening to the name and making sure we get it right at the pharmacy, since they screw up too. I always write down what my doc says on my own notepad and check it at the pharmacy. I once got a 300 dollar medecine for something unrelated instead of a 45dollar antibiotic.=/

[OMGWTF]

sad wrote:

what I dont understand, is that with ALL these technological advances in medicine, prescriptions are still written on little notepads and taken to a pharmacy. if it were electronically done there would be NO mix up because people would actually understand what the doctors are writing.

Electronic prescribing has its own set of problems and is anything but foolproof.

[DAS]

What do the Pills talk to each other ??????

[John]

If doctors write legibly, and pharmacists aren't high at the time a prescription comes in, All should be fine

[dr suess]

sound-alike drugs? i like the sound of that.

[Eyes Wide Shut]

A buddy of mine drowned snorting Coke. I guess that it wasn't the "Real Thing"?