Dear Editor:
We have all heard news media reports about medication errors and that medication errors can have devastating outcomes. According to Bruce Ruck, Pharm.D., of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center “patients can decrease the risk of falling victim to a medication error by being informed consumers.”
Consumers often ask us “did the pharmacist give me the correct medication.” This question arises because the tablet or capsule looked different from what they originally received.
Occasionally, the wrong medication was dispensed; however, the majority of time the medication is correct but the pharmacy obtained and dispensed a different brand (generic) of the same medication or the manufacturer changed the “look” of the product.
When filling a prescription with generic medication, pharmacists do not have to dispense the same company’s generic with each refill. Patient confusion often arises when a different “generic” is dispensed with a refill or when the brand name manufacturer changes the “look” of the product.
US Food and Drug Administration standards require generic medications contain the same active ingredient and strength as the brand name product. However, the products do not have to look the same as the brand name product or the same as other generics of the same medication.
Whenever taking a medication that looks, tastes or smells different than what you expect, Ruck suggests checking with your pharmacist to determine if the correct product was dispensed. If this is not possible the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System is available 24 hours a day to assist you. Help is just a phone call away! The number is 800 POISON-1 (1-800-764-7661).
New Jersey Poison Information and Education System