Medication errors similar drug names

Healthcare professionals can either complete a report form or contact the ISMP—Spain directly by e-mail, fax, or telephone to report medication errors with complete confidentiality. The types of medication errors submitted include confusion over look-alike or sound-alike drug names, ambiguity or similarity in packaging or labeling. 

Medication errors involving look-alike/sound-alike drug names can cause serious patient harm. For instance, a number of errors have been reported and published on the confusion between Lamisil and Lamictal . Reading these two names quickly, one can easily see how they could be confused, but re-design of the labels to highlight the differences rather than the similarities makes them markedly distinct (Figure 12.1). 

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