Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22193703›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of clinical pharmacy2012

Look-alike and sound-alike medicines: risks and 'solutions'.

Lynne M Emmerton, Mariam F S Rizk

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in International journal of clinical pharmacy, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. A systematic literature review of LASA error interventions.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2021
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Identification and safe storage of look-alike, sound-alike medicines in automated dispensing cabinets.European journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice · 2021
    Article
  8. Observational
  9. Patient Safety: A Deep Concern to Caregivers.Innovations in pharmacy · 2019
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Dispensing errors from look-alike drug trade names.European journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice · 2018
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Reducing medication errors in critical care: a multimodal approach.Clinical pharmacology : advances and applications · 2014
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Lynne M EmmertonSchool of Pharmacy, Curtin Health Innovation Research Centre, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia. lynne.emmerton@curtin.edu.au
Mariam F S Rizk

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

'Look-alike, sound-alike' medicines are associated with dispensing errors. This commentary aims to fuel discussion surrounding how drug name nomenclature and similar packaging between medicines can lead to selection errors, the need for enhanced approval systems for medicine names and packaging, and best practice 'solutions'. The literature reveals a number of environmental risks and human factors that can contribute to such errors. To contextualise these risks, we interviewed 13 quality and safety experts, psycholinguists, and hospital and community pharmacy practitioners in Australia, and commissioned a medical software industry expert to conceptualise electronic initiatives. Environmental factors contributing to such errors, identified through both the literature and interviews, include distractions during dispensing; workflow controls should minimise the 'human factors' element of errors. Technological solutions with some support, and yet recognised limitations, include font variations, automated alerts, barcode scanning and real-time reporting programmed into dispensing software; further development of these initiatives is recommended.

Indexed as

Drug PackagingAustraliaCommunity Pharmacy ServicesData CollectionDrug Therapy, Computer-AssistedHumansMedication ErrorsPharmacy Service, HospitalSoftwareTechnology, PharmaceuticalTerminology as Topic

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.