This Is How Easy It Is to Pick Up the Wrong Prescription Drug

The Food and Drug Administration today warned that two drugs with similar names have been mixed up dozens of times by doctors and pharmacists. The antidepressant Brintellix and the anti-clotting agent Brilinta have been confused at least 50 times. Though the agency has no records of cases in which patients took the wrong drug, it's concerned enough to alert the public.

The agency has warned about name mix-ups before. A handful of errors involving drugs called Flomax (to aid urination for men with enlarged prostate) and Volmax (to improve breathing for people with lung disease) prompted a warning in 2000. The antipsychotic Risperdal has been confused with Requip, used to treat symptoms of Parkinson's and restless leg syndrome. Errors increased after generic versions, known as risperidone and ropinirole, became available. Even the packaging was similar, and the agency asked drugmakers to change it in 2011.