A SIGNIFICANT association between drug name confusion error rates observed in the real world and those seen in laboratory-based tests of memory and perception has been observed in a US study involving two large pharmacy chains.
Real world error rates from the retailers were compared with errors found in exercises designed to test drug name recognition and recall under time and noise stress.
Four tests were imposed on 80 participants randomly assigned to two groups each containing eight doctors, eight nurses, eight pharmacists, eight pharmacy technicians and eight lay people.
Brand-brand, generic-generic, brand-generic and generic-brand mistakes were evaluated across 123 name pairs to assess which brand and generic names caused the most difficulties, with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians separated out in the analysis to more closely reflect real world significance.
Common errors emerged with pairs such as diazepam and diltiazem, hydroxyzine and hydralazine, Paxil and Taxol, fomepizole and omeprazole, and Foradil and Toradol.
The research showed a "strong and significant association between drug name confusion error rates observed in the real world and those observed in laboratory-based tests," the authors concluded.
By using a standard battery of memory and perception tests, it should be possible for regulators to reduce the number of confusing look-alike and sound-alike drug name pairs in the market, which would help protect patients from potentially harmful error, they said.
Visit qualitysafety.bmj.com for the BMJ published paper.
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