Chain Drug Review - Ortho-McNeil, J&J step up the fight against dispensing errors
TITUSVILLE, N.J. — OrthoMcNeil Neurologics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC are alerting prescribers and other health care professionals to the possibility of dispensing errors involving Topamax, Razadyne ER and Razadyne.
“Dispensing confusion between two drug products with similar brand names and doses has led to medication errors,” says a statement by the companies. “An example of such a mistake was reported between Topamax (topiramate) and Toprol-XL (metoprolol succinate).
“Possible explanations for these medication errors include similarity in names between the two products, proximity of the bottles of each medication on pharmacy shelves and of the product brand names in computerized listings.”
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Other similarities between the drug products cited by the manufacturers include abbreviations in computerized listings incorporating the first three letters and dose of both names, identical dosage strengths and identical starting doses.
“Another example of errors of similarly named medications involved reports of confusion between Rozerem and Razadyne,” say the companies. “Both drug products are available as 8-mg tablets.
“Prescribing mistakes between different formulations for a given medication have been reported and led to improper administration of the medication by patients and caregivers. An example involves the immediate-release and extended-release formulations of Razadyne.”
The immediate-release tablet is to be administered twice daily; the extended-release capsule (Razadyne ER), once daily. Factors that may have contributed to medication errors include omission of the formulation on the prescription order and incorrect administration directions from the prescriber (e.g., twice daily dosing for extended-release formulation instead of once daily for extended release and vice versa).
Suggestions for pharmacists are also offered by the companies.
“Although potential medication errors have multiple symptom causes, the role of the pharmacist in avoiding such errors is pivotal,” they point out. “Increased awareness of prescribing and dispensing medication errors, combined with incorporating additional verification measures, can most likely prevent medication errors.
“It is important for all health care professionals to take an active role in the medication use process. With more patients taking a greater number of medications, increased awareness of prescribing and dispensing confusion between similar drug products can help to minimize the occurrence of these errors.”
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