Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Comparing apples to apples

Like most docs, I use Epocrates on a PDA for medication info. It's not perfect, but very helpful.

So today I had to look up something on Topamax and found this, under "Look/Sound alike drug names"

"Topamax may be confused with Topiramate"

They're the SAME FREAKING DRUG, for crap's sake!!!

(For those of you looking this up on your PDA, it's under "Safety/Monitoring")
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18 comments:

  1. Kat's KatsAugust 25, 2010 at 3:03 PM

    ROFLOLASTC*!! As someone who takes the generic of Topomax I find this especially hysterical!

    *Rolling On Floor Laughing Out Loud And Scaring The Cats

    plescart - a cart full of diet coke

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  2. OMDGAugust 25, 2010 at 3:09 PM

    Awesome.

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  3. EileenAugust 25, 2010 at 3:34 PM

    So that's Ok then...

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  4. MDBAugust 25, 2010 at 3:37 PM

    About the only reason I can think for that to come up is some physicians can get real pissy if they say topamax and generic gets dispensed because they neglected to tell the pharmacist that it is brand name they want dispensed.

    I've also seen one local prescriber write for generic and then put DAW (dispense as written) and expect brand dispensed. But I've also had others write DAW on the generic name for something that has no generic but expects the pharmacy to seemingly pull a generic out our rears because he/she says there is a generic.

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  5. The Nerdy NurseAugust 25, 2010 at 4:09 PM

    That's pretty amusing. What a nice Easter egg to find in your medication software.
    Hiw nice of them to have a sense of humor.

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  6. MooseAugust 25, 2010 at 4:33 PM

    I wonder if it'd tell you that oxycodone sounds like oxycontin

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  7. SandraAugust 25, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    I bet that entry was a well disguised advertisement by the manufacturer of Topamax to try and keep doctors from prescribing the generic. HAHAHA

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  8. AmandaAugust 25, 2010 at 4:50 PM

    On a semi-related note, the site I use for tracking my calories offers helpful hints when we're looking up food, in case we've misspelled it or something.

    Unfortunately, when I put in "Nonfat Milk" it asks me "Did you mean Nonfatal Milk?"

    Erm... yes, but I wasn't aware I needed to specify.

    *headdesk*

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  9. The Mendon FoodieAugust 25, 2010 at 5:21 PM

    I recently had a resident not even know that topirimate was the generic for Topamax. I found it disconcerting, until I decided to give him a pass because he was an allergist. At least his attending knew what it was.

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  10. rxBambiAugust 25, 2010 at 5:32 PM

    I'm not sure about the doctors version, but I can tell you that most pharmacists I know think Lexi-comp is far superior to Epocrates... just sayin...

    and ps- Lexi-comp doesn't give the topamax/topiramate safety issue :)

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  11. PASAugust 25, 2010 at 6:18 PM

    Epocrates does get credit for having almost every insurance formulary in it. Now if only there was a way to tell which one a particular patient is on...

    @Moose That'd actually be a pretty good one. I can't count the number of doctors who've called up furious that we won't cover Oxycontin 5mg.

    For nonpharmacy folks, the smallest dose of Oxycontin(which is a 12 hr controlled release) is 10 mg. The 5 mg is not controlled release and is not called Oxycontin. Or as retail customers like to call it: 'oxycottons'.

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  12. AnonymousAugust 25, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    We do have Oxycontin 5 mg here in Canada, but it's not as popular as the other strengths ;)

    Shauna (murgatr)

    Pharm.Tech RDC'06

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  13. AnonymousAugust 25, 2010 at 6:49 PM

    Now that's funny. I too use Epocrates a good bit and like it, but it's certainly not exhaustive. Now I know that it can also provide comic relief!

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  14. Lord of the EepleAugust 25, 2010 at 6:59 PM

    Hmm. My psychiatrist does not appear to know the names of the drugs she prescribes and became mildly confused when I spoke of 'citalopram' instead of calling it, as she wrote in the Rx, 'Celexa, generic ok.'

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  15. AnonymousAugust 25, 2010 at 10:02 PM

    I find it highly entertaining when I have to go through my meds list at the doctor's office. (I keep a little card in my wallet with drugs, dosages, doctors, allergies, and ICE contacts.) It seems that EMRs list most drugs as brands. There are only a few brand drugs I take, and I have to translate generic to brand for the RN/NP/PA/MA. Sheesh.

    WV: repsysol - when you have to go back to the shrink because the last thing she tried didn't work

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  16. AnonymousAugust 26, 2010 at 1:01 PM

    To be fair, it looks like Epocrates cites usp.org for their look-alike/sound-alike content. If USP lists Topamax and topiramate as look-alike/sound-alike, you can't just omit it and then give a citation. That would be misrepresenting the source material. But, yeah, funny!

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  17. terri cAugust 26, 2010 at 1:37 PM

    Lovely. The computer is doing EXACTLY what it was told...

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  18. KylaAugust 27, 2010 at 12:16 PM

    Nice catch. LOL.

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So wadda you think?