Medication Safety in Look-Alike Sound-Alike (LASA) Drugs

One of the most common sources of medication errors involves look-alike sound-alike (LASA) drugs. These medications have similar names, packaging, labeling, or pronunciations, which can lead to confusion among healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and patients. Errors involving LASA drugs may result in patients receiving the wrong medication, incorrect dosages, or inappropriate treatments, potentially causing serious harm. With the increase in complex medication usage, healthcare organizations must implement effective strategies like standardized labeling, staff education, barcode verification systems, and patient engagement initiatives to reduce the risk of LASA-related errors and promote safer medication practices. Medication Safety in Look-Alike Sound-Alike (LASA) Drugs examines medication errors stemming from LASA drugs, a critical but often under-recognized cause of preventable harm in healthcare systems. It explores the origins and prevalence of LASA errors, their root causes, and the systemic, regulatory, and clinical strategies for prevention. This book covers topics such as pharmacology, healthcare systems, and mediation errors, and is a useful resource for medical and healthcare professionals, pharmacologists, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and scientists.