Packaging, such as container/carton labels, will be considered by the agency in an attempt to reduce errors.
ModernMedicine reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration “has made a commitment to publish a draft guidance to reduce medication errors by Sept. 30.”
According to the report, the FDA was looking for comments on reducing errors that could be connected to “the design of container labels, carton labels, and packaging.” Proprietary naming errors can stem from sources such as look-alike/sound-alike names, abbreviations, not recognizing the active ingredient, and encoded numerals.
An alarming point made in the Modern Medicine article: “A third of medication errors, including 30% of fatal errors reported to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, may be attributed to packaging and labeling, FDA noted.”
Here’s a look at several revealing and frightening statistics pertaining to medication errors…
--Jim Butschli, Healthcare Packaging editor
