Shape matters: a neglected feature of medication safety: why regulating the shape of medication containers can improve medication safety.
Bitan Y, Nunnally M. Shape matters: a neglected feature of medication safety: why regulating the shape of medication containers can improve medication safety. J Med Syst. 2022;47(1):6. doi:10.1007/s10916-022-01905-0.
Hospitals, pharmacies, and organizations have developed numerous strategies to prevent look-alike/sound-alike medication mix-ups, but these errors continue to occur. This article suggests a human factors approach by changing the shape of the container for each medication class-type, thus reducing clinicians’ cognitive load. Importantly, drug manufacturers would need to agree on container shapes to prevent confusion when drugs are ordered from different suppliers.