WASHINGTON – Nearly 1,500 widely used drugs have names, alike to at least one other medication that they’ve already caused mix-ups, says a major study by the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.

Mixing up drug names, because they have similar names or looks, is one of the most common types of medical mistakes which can cause deadly results. Now new efforts are focusing to stop the confusion, and make patients aware of the expected risk.

”There are so many new drugs approved each year, this problem can only get worse,” warns USP vice president Diane Cousins.

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