These are two drugs you don't want to get confused, but some health care professionals are.
The issue is serious enough that the FDA issued a warning to health care professionals and patients that reports of confusion between the antidepressant Brintellix and anti-blood clotting medication Brilinta have resulted in the wrong medication being prescribed or dispensed.
The FDA determined that the main reason for the confusion between these two medications is the similarity of their brand (proprietary) names. None of the reports indicate that a patient ingested the wrong medication, however, reports of prescribing and dispensing errors continue, the FDA said.
The agency recommends that health care professionals can reduce the risk of name confusion by including the generic (established) name of the medication, in addition to the brand name and the indication for use, when prescribing these medications.
