MINNEAPOLIS, September 2, 2008—Nearly 1,500 commonly used drugs have names so similar to other drugs that patients have gotten them confused, according to a study by the U.S. Pharmacopeia, which helps set drug standards and promote patient safety. 

Examples:

• Clonidine (for high blood pressure) and Klonopin (for seizures)
• Celebrex  (a painkiller) and Celexa (an antidepressant)
• Lamictal (for epilepsy) and Lamisil (an antifungal)
• Zyprexa (for schizophrenia), and Zyrtec (an antihistamine)

About 1.5 million Americans are estimated to be harmed each year from a variety of medication errors, and name mix-ups are blamed for a quarter of them. 

In response to this confusion over drug names, U.S. Pharmacopeia has launched a new website, www.usp.org, to help people make good decisions.

This fall the group will roll out an even more patient-oriented website, in partnership with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices and online health service iGuard.org, that will send users e-mail alerts about drug-name confusion.

Link: Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS)

Source: Seattle Pilot-Intelligencer