Original Article www.jpgmonline.com Confusing brand names: Nightmare of medical profession Rataboli PV, Garg A Department of Pharma- ABSTRACT cology and Therapeutics, Objective: India has more than 20,000 registered pharmaceutical manufacturers. Consequently, there is a Goa Medical College, Bambolim, Goa 403202, flood of brand names to choose from. We conducted this study to analyse and sort out the multitudinous India brand names thronging the Indian market, and identified those that could create a possible confusion. Materials and Methods: Recent issues of drug formularies like Indian Drug Review, Drug Index, and Monthly Correspondence: Index of Medical Specialities-India were checked and all the brand names given were included. Some other Amit Garg, MD brand names that are available with the pharmacists but are not included in these indexes were also included E-mail:
[email protected] in the study for analysis. Observations: Potentially confusing brand names were sorted out and categorised according to the severity of damage they can cause if misinterpreted by the pharmacist or the patient. Subgroups were made according to the brand name, the generic name, and the manufacturers of the drug. Conclusion: Several brand names are strikingly identical, similar looking (orthographic), or similar sounding (phonological). Preventing this possible confusion is not the work of any one person involved. We describe the Received : 09-08-04 role of prescribing doctors, dispensing pharmacists, consumer patients, and the manufacturing companies to Review completed : 30-09-04 prevent “wrong prescribing” due to similarities in brand names. Accepted : 22-12-04 PubMed ID : 15793332 J Postgrad Med 2005;51:13-6 KEY WORDS: Identical; look-alike; sound-alike; confusing; brand names rescribing drugs with their brand name is an essential the patients, doctors, pharmacists, and the drug manufacturers were P part of medical practice.