Harm From Drug Name Mix-Ups "Intolerable"

The number of drugs with names that are too similar to those of other drugs has nearly doubled since 2004, and it's estimated that more than 300,000 patients are harmed each year by taking the wrong medications due to the resulting confusion, according to a new report.

The report's authors call that number "intolerable."

The association that sets the standards for drugs in the United States, U.S. Pharmocopeia, says there are more than 3,000 pair of drug names that look or sound uncomfortably alike, nearly twice as many as when the organization issued its last report on the subject four years ago.

On The Early Show Tuesday, medical contributor Dr. Holly Phillips of CBS station WCBS-TV in New York said it's easier than ever to mix up drug names, due simply to the ever-rising number of drugs on the market.

One example Phillips points to: Celebrex and Celexa. They sound awfully similar, but one is used for arthritis pain, and the other to treat anxiety and depression. There are documented examples of people's health being harmed when they've taken one when they should have gotten the other.

Prozac and Prilosec are another example. Prozac is the widely-used antidepressant. Prilosec is used to treat heartburn.

Only "a handful" of cases have been documented in which patients died because of a drug mix-up, Phillips says, but when mistakes are avoidable, even a few are too many.

To cut down on the number of mistakes, Phillips says, "Everyone along the way can do better."

Doctors can write their prescriptions more clearly -- in block letters instead of the scribble they often use. And they can help the pharmacist out by writing down what the drug is for. If the doctor writes Prilosec but indicates it's for depression, the pharmacist has a clue that something is wrong, and can ask the doctor whether he or she meant Prozac.

The pharmacy can stock its shelves without drugs that are easily confused with each other sitting side-by-side.

And patients can protect themselves: When a pharmacist hands them a drug they're taking for the first time, they should ask what it's for. And if the answer isn't what they expect, ask the pharmacist to double-check everything before taking the drug home and using it.