Treatment can be duplicated and drugs can interact when patients are accidentally prescribed medications with the same ingredients but different brand names, according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).
ISMP said it has received several reports of these problems recently, including a woman who was treated with nitroglycerin although she was on the prescription Revatio. Physicians did not immediately realize that this drug contains the same active ingredient as Viagra and cannot be used with organic nitrates.
Several prescriptions are prescribed under two brand names, including bupropion, which is sold as both Zyban and Wellbutrin; finasteride, which is sold as Propecia and Proscar; and fluoxetine, which is sold as Sarafem and Prozac.
Physicians can reduce the risk of errors by:
- Conducting a thorough drug history
- Reviewing drug information if they encounter unfamiliar product names
- Encouraging patients to fill their prescriptions at the same pharmacy
The ISMP said errors are more likely to happen when the same drug is dispensed from two pharmacies under two different brand names, when a physician prescribes a drug by its generic name but it's dispensed and labeled by its brand name, or when generic products are available under different brand names.