Letters

Avoiding drug errors

EDITOR,--The diversity of drug packaging that R E Ferner criticises has existed for many years.¹ What Ferner now identifies is a move towards standardisation through pharmaceutical manufacturers' adoption of the NHS ampoule labelling specification. The work leading to this has been described by Nunn.² The NHS specification seeks to establish a standard for labels, with the information presented in a consistent format and printed in the most legible way. The problem with diversity is that practitioners use features such as colour, shape, etc as a substitute for correct reading and inspection of the label. Use of such substitutes is both fallible and dangerous.

The company whose products are illustrated in Ferner's letter manufacturers nearly 100 different ampoules. To differentiate between that number of products by use of colour, shape, etc is obviously impossible. Ferner's hypothetical practitioner with modest presbyopia would obviously find it easier to read the . . . [Full text of this article]

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