Don"t drug manufacturers have a responsibility?

[Johnandvirginia]

Like many of you on this site I have to take both Warfarin and Ramipril. I continue to be surprised that this manufacturer produces two drugs in strikingly similar colour and design, allowing the possibility of mistakes.

[Finvola]

Couldn't agree more. Perhaps packaging colour and design should be copyright together with brand names.

Crikey - just noticed they're from the same firm - inexcusable.

[BobD Volunteer]

Does seem odd but as both these drugs are no longer copyright and I suspect that this is just the generic manufacturer's general box design.

I find that I seldom get the same make on many of my prescriptions and pills change shape from round to lozenge to ovoid almost at will. Surely the best action is a seven day pill box which one loads once a week thus avoiding any chance of mistakes. Let's be honest here most pills are small and white anyway

[meadfoot]

I agree. Easy to get these two mixed up. Given its more likely to be older people taking these drugs it's doubly irresponsible given failing eye sight.

[jeanjeannie50]

I agree with you, but once I took the wrong tablets because I sometimes kept the foil pack of Flecainide out of the packet by the side of my bed so I could take it as soon as I was awake. Picked it up took one and then my 12.5mg of Metoprolol, but what I had in fact taken was a whole 50mg tablet of Metoprolol as well as the 12.5. I felt so ill that day as Metoprolol has a really strong effect on me and my AF nurse once said it could kill me. I discovered this after I was given 2 x 50mg in hospital and collapsed. I have a totally different routine now so that it can never happen again.

So you see, silly people like me can still take the wrong tablets even if they're in totally different packs. I really don't know what the answer is, but having packets looking the same certainly wont help.

Jean

[10gingercats]

We have been talking about..... this problem at home for a few months. hike...plus the huge

hike in the price of some drugs over recent months.I take Liothyronine which has had a huge price increase by the manufacturer to the NHS recently and my otherwise lovely doctor

is hm,harring about stopping mine.This is happening all over the UK. So I will write toNICE and see what comes of that.

[Finvola]

There is also the problem of similar colour and design packaging in a busy chemist and human mistakes happen, sometimes with very serious results, as was reported recently with 2 drugs which only had names that looked similar.

[Bagrat]

10mg diazepam ( pale blue round), 3mg warfarin ( pale blue round), nursed a distressed gent who had muddled these up. He made a full recovery. I am always relieved that whatever supplier of warfarin they stick to same colours.

[CDreamer]

There is a huge problem with one of the essential drugs I take as the UK producer of the generic drug has ceased to manufacture and can give no date of when they may be available again. This means that the trademarked version can be given, which I have tried to stick to anyway, BUT NHS England is refusing to pay for it - it is £8 per bottle more expensive so many of the Independant pharmacists are refusing to supplyfor as they are not reimbursed by NHS England.

This means that many people cannot easily get their essential drug without which they cannot function - at all. After some chasing my local pharmacist is supplying me - I just picked up 2 bottles, the last 2 the wholesaler had which were a 'parallel import'. He did this as I am the only patient on this med in his practice and he knows how essential this is to me.

This is not a one off case, I have heard of other drug shortages.

This has scared our community and the chief executive of our charity has been meeting with NHS England who she says are not taking this situation seriously.

So to reply to the original post - although there is a similarity in packaging which may cause confusion - if you weren't paying attention - personally I am more worried about obtaining my drug - so I don't care about the packaging - period.

If I was worried about confusing the 2 for myself or anyone else I would get some large coloured stickers and colour code the boxes,

[Drounding]

I also find that generic tablets on repeat prescriptions for exactly the same medication can look completely different. Different colours, different sizes, different shapes etc. I can understand different branding on the outer packages but I thought the tablets themselves were supposed to look the same regardless of the manufacturer.

[MarkS]

I just take the 14 pill warfarin foil out of the box and use that. With 3 warfarin tablets to take a day (pink, blue, brown) it's far easier than having to take the foil out of the box each day and put it back in again. The foils look totally different so there should be no mistake.

[ojidanowe]

wow, that really is not a good idea. for some people, such as the elderly, that could cause some serious problems