�The U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention has announced a new dose safety tool designed to help patients, caregivers, pharmacists, physicians and others in avoiding medication errors that may pass because of drug name calling that look alike and/or sound likewise. This "Drug Error Finder" is a searchable database of virtually 1,D commonly used drugs reported to be involved in medication mix-ups in the U.S. health care system since 2003. The database is publicly available at no toll on USP's Web site at http://www.usp.org/hqi/similarProducts/drugErrorFinderTool.html.
The Drug Error Finder is derived from a heel of 1,470 unique drugs that were concerned in medication errors due to brand and/or generic drug name calling that seem or profound alike and reported to USP's MEDMARX� - an anonymous database used by hospitals and health care systems across the United States to report, lead and break down medication errors - or to USP's Medication Errors Reporting Program. The list was included in USP's 8th annual MEDMARX Data Report, released in January 2008, which examined more than 26,000 erroneousness records related to similar drug name calling submitted to the database from 2003 to 2006. This is the largest known list of look alike, sound alike dose names in the globe based on actual medication error reports.
"As more medications are sanctioned for mart each yr and go available to Americans, the opportunity for potentially serious or level deadly errors due to drug mix-ups from look alike or sound likewise names becomes increasingly high," said Diane Cousins, R.Ph., USP vice president of healthcare timber and data. "While one drug name may be nearly identical to that of another drug, the two could be used for completely different weather condition. This presents a major public wellness threat, and we think this new tool can buoy play an important role in portion to reduce patient risk associated with this problem."
One example of a do drugs involved in such errors reported to MEDMARX is Clonidine, a high blood pressure medicament. In actual instances reported to USP, this drug was baffled with multiple drugs, including Colchicine (used for gouty arthritis), Cetirizine (an antihistamine), and Clonazepam and its firebrand name, Klonopin (used for anxiety and seizures). "As one can imagine, for someone with hypertension, receiving the faulty medication could present a potentially knockout consequence," celebrated Cousins. "This is incisively the type of stump we think could be avoided through tools such as our Drug Error Finder. This may be useful to parties across the health care system who are involved in dispensing and administering medications - and especially to caregivers and to patients, who should always remain vigilant and participate actively in their care." The 2008 MEDMARX Report found 25 unlike levels of individuals mired in similar name errors, from chemist's technicians, nurses and physicians to patients and mob members.
To manipulation the Drug Error Finder, simply type in the name of the fussy drug of interest. In addition to rapidly generating a list of medications that hold been mixed-up with that drug, the tool will also allow users to see the severity attributed to the reported errors involving the drug (ranging from Category A for "potential for error" to Category I for "death").
The Drug Error Finder is one constituent of USP's response to the Institute of Medicine's 2006 theme, Preventing Medication Errors, which calls on the regime and public health organizations to call medication errors resulting from similar labeling and publicity as well as bewilderingly similar dose names.
To access the database, visit http://www.usp.org/hqi/similarProducts/drugErrorFinderTool.html.
USP - Advancing Public Health Since 1820
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a private, non-profit, standards-setting organization that advances world health by helping to ensure the quality and consistency of medicines, nutrient ingredients, and dietary supplements, promoting the safe and proper enjoyment of medications, and collateral ingredients in drugs and dietary supplements. Its standards, which ar recognized global, are developed by a unique work of public involvement through the contributions of volunteers representing chemist's shop, medicine, and other health care professions, as well as skill, academia, politics, the pharmaceutical and solid food industries, and consumer organizations. For more than information nigh USP and its populace health programs, visit http://www.usp.org/newscenter.
Source: Sandra Kim
US Pharmacopeia
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