LOOK-ALIKE AND SOUND-ALIKE MEDICINES AND MEDICATION ERRORS: RISKS, PREVENTION STRATEGIES, AND THE ROLE OF PHARMACY EDUCATION

Abstract Look-alike and sound-alike (LASA) medicines are medicines that can easily be confused with one another because their names, pronunciation, packaging, labels, shape, colour, or size look or sound similar. This confusion can lead to medication errors during prescribing, dispensing, storing, or giving medicines to patients. Such errors can put patient safety at risk. The main aim of this review is to understand the problems caused by LASA medicines, identify the reasons behind medication errors, and discuss ways to prevent them, especially in pharmacy practice and education. For this review, published research papers, relevant studies, and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines were considered to understand the safety risks associated with LASA medicines. The available research shows that LASA-related medication errors can happen at different stages of medicine use. Some common reasons include similar medicine names and packaging, difficulty reading prescriptions, interruptions during work, heavy workloads, and a lack of proper checking procedures. These errors can be reduced by carefully checking the complete medicine name and strength, storing medicines properly, using clear labels, following electronic prescribing systems, using barcode scanning, maintaining good communication, and providing proper medication-safety training. This review highlights the important role of pharmacists and pharmacy students in identifying and preventing medication errors related to LASA medicines. Including practical activities to identify LASA medicines and medication-safety training in pharmacy education can help students become more aware of these risks and develop safer medicine-handling practices. Keywords: Look-alike and sound-alike medicines, LASA, medication errors, medication safety, patient safety, pharmacy education.