The organizations that gather voluntary reports from medical professionals don't release such details as the names of patients and health care settings where the errors took place. In 2000, the U.S. Pharmacopeia received reports of about 600 errors and 200 potential errors. It estimates that sound-alike names account for 15 percent of its calls. The FDA receives about 300 reports a month on medication errors, about half pertaining to confusion over naming, labeling or packaging. Grissinger, of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, said his group receives about 60 to 80 calls a month.
People are afraid to report things.
They are afraid they might lose their job, their license, or get yelled at in front of other people. Dr. Don Nielsen, a senior vice president at the American Hospital Association, said his group is urging hospitals to encourage more open reporting of errors. Every hospital prescription goes through about 60 steps before it's administered, Nielsen said. As hospital workers process orders through computers, they should be automatically alerted to possible sound-alike problems, the hospital association has urged in safety recommendations. As problems arise, some pharmaceutical manufacturers alert health care professionals by taking out ads in trade journals or writing letters.