New federal regulations are expected to ensure that Canadians have access to prescription drugs that are easy to read and understand.
On Wednesday, the federal Ministry of Health announced the introduction of plain language labelling regulations. The new regulations, effective as of Wednesday, require manufacturers of prescription drugs to provide mock-ups of labels and packages for Health Canada review and to provide evidence that proposed brand names will not be confused with previously approved brand names.
Regulations will also apply to prescription drugs that are administered or obtained through a health professional.
"Similar looking or sounding drug names can cause confusion and make it difficult for patients and healthcare providers to select the correct medication. These new regulations will help to avoid potentially dangerous medication errors,” said Health Minister Rona Ambrose.
As many as one in nine emergency room visits are related to drug adverse incidents, 68 per cent of which are preventable.
Moreover, some drug names cannot be searched because they are not included in either Health Canada’s Notice of Compliance database or the Drug Product Database. The plain language initiative is supposed to assist in alleviating this issue.
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