Union government should stop the ‘sound-alike’ names of drugs and enforce a prescription audit to prevent serious adverse events (SAEs), life threatening conditions and even fatality, said Dr BR Jagashetty, former Karnataka drugs controller.

In order to prevent these drugs being circulated in the country, the government has to organize a dedicated training programme for the state drugs control departments. Further, the state health and family welfare departments need to set aside funds to conduct IEC (information, communication and education) programmes at frequent intervals for the public. The chemists and druggists in the states need to be told to put away ‘sound-alike’ drugs which are sought for sales, he added.

Currently, there are several such brands and generic drugs in the market. According to the Institute of Safe Medicine Practice report some of these include Zyrtec for allergy rhinitis and Zantac for GERD, Seroquel for bipolar disorder and Serzone, Femera for cancer and Femert which is a hormone, Enjuvia an estrogen hormones and Januvia a diabetic drug, Atacand for high blood pressure and kidney problems and Antacid, Capex an anti-inflammatory and Kapidex for stomach ulcer, Abelcet for fungal infections and Aciphex for excessive stomach acid.

“With over-the-counter sales forming a major chunk of daily revenues for the pharmacy trade, there is need to stop sale of drugs with potentially problematic names at the earliest. This is where prescription audit is seen as a way forward for India,” Dr. Jagashetty told Pharmabiz.

“Effecting a prescription audit would ensure rigorous vigilance of hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. Since stopping the production of these drugs would take some time, the government should call for a list of the ‘similar sounding’ drug names and circulate it to medical practitioners across the country. In an age of mobile technology which is transforming healthcare with a mere smart phone, the government will need to mandate the upload of the similar sounding drug list on the cell phones of doctors and pharmacists to enable easy access when prescribing and selling respectively. This would also portray efficiency and accountability in the Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare sector,” noted the former Karnataka drugs controller.

The problem of wrong medication with a range of sound alike or look alike drugs is further compounded by the written prescription. More often the doctors handwriting is illegible and in certain cases only chemists can comprehend the drug name. In such cases, the chances of a wrong drug sale is highly possible. Therefore, healthcare providers should ensure digitization of prescriptions so that chemists can call up the hospital, clinic or doctor to verify the drug before he sells it to the consumer or patient.

If the government does not take adequate measures immediately, the consequences would be grave. It should immediately make it obligatory for pharmacy retail and wholesale outlets to be watchful and inform the state regulatory authority about the similar sounding drugs. In fact, such a move would enable the government to create a list for the pharma companies to effect a name change immediately. It would also help the government to take legal action against such manufacturers if they continue production of ‘sound-alike’ drugs, he said.