Comments on: Watch out for drug names that look, sound alike http://theleanthinker.com/2008/09/01/watch-out-for-drug-names-that-look-sound-alike/ Thoughts and insights from the shop floor. Tue, 15 May 2012 17:29:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jim Fernandez http://theleanthinker.com/2008/09/01/watch-out-for-drug-names-that-look-sound-alike/comment-page-1/#comment-7622 Jim Fernandez Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:51:59 +0000 http://theleanthinker.com/2008/09/01/watch-out-for-drug-names-that-look-sound-alike/#comment-7622 That Yahoo news article is pretty scary. I like your solution. I’ll bet the U.S. Pharmacopeia and the Food and Drug Administration would not consider something like your proposing because the medical industry is not made up of people that “think outside the box”. In other words they feel that the proper name is the proper name, period! And, maybe the drug companies would not want to divulge the formulation and strength of their drugs. It’s also scary to consider that the article is only referring to English speaking issues. We need to remember that the world is made up of mostly non-English speaking people. Yet another reason why your idea is a good one. I think adding the drug name to the end of the coding system would ease any concerns the drug companies might have. So when they advertise they could use a drug name. Otherwise we might hear, “With 49L8UXW4 you don’t have to worry about being ready when the time is right”. That Yahoo news article is pretty scary. I like your solution. I’ll bet the U.S. Pharmacopeia and the Food and Drug Administration would not consider something like your proposing because the medical industry is not made up of people that “think outside the box”. In other words they feel that the proper name is the proper name, period! And, maybe the drug companies would not want to divulge the formulation and strength of their drugs.

It’s also scary to consider that the article is only referring to English speaking issues. We need to remember that the world is made up of mostly non-English speaking people. Yet another reason why your idea is a good one.

I think adding the drug name to the end of the coding system would ease any concerns the drug companies might have. So when they advertise they could use a drug name. Otherwise we might hear, “With 49L8UXW4 you don’t have to worry about being ready when the time is right”.

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