Identification of Confusing Medicine Proprietary Names: Toward Safe Medicine Use-A Cross-Sectional Study in Sri Lanka.

Background: Look-alike sound-alike (LASA) medications have similar pronunciation (phonetic) and/or manifestation (orthographic), which could create confusion among users and challenge the safe use of medicines. The availability of foreign products in local markets aggravates the situation. This study was designed to examine the registered medicine proprietary names in Sri Lanka to discern the presence of similar medicine names in the industry.

Regulatory requirements and labeling of commercially available prescription (oral) medicines in Sri Lanka: there is room for improvement.

Background: The consistency and the quality of medicine labels are sought through the regulatory frameworks. This study aims at investigating the secondary labels of medicines based on the labeling regulations and guidelines issued by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), Sri Lanka.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 commonly used prescription-only oral medicines selected using the price regulations published for most commonly used drugs.