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Pills, Pills, Pills - What's in a Name?

Yes, I know medical terms sound like another language to lay persons.  Sometimes we medical people get a good laugh out of patient's pronunciations.  My mother always called the "pharmist" to refill her meds.  My friend's mother said she needed "cadillac" (cataract) surgery.  One injured worker told me he was x-rated and sent home from the ER.  But the funniest was a lady talking about her "rotisserie cup" surgery - translated "rotator cuff".



Medication names - particularly generic names, can be very confusing.  That's why I always recommend carrying a written list of medications in your wallet.  It's great to have in an emergency, or when you are filling out clinic history forms.  While we can laugh off some mispronunciations, medication names are very important NOT to get confused. Stacy Mathis, RN had a patient this week that is a perfect example.  

An injured worker had been recommended to return to his psychologist for what seemed to be a regression of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with irritability, anger, and impulsiveness on the job.  RN Case Managers don't typically attend psychological sessions, but we do review the visit dictation for treatment plan and recommendations.  And it's a good thing we did in this case!  The patient told the psychologist he was taking Celexa, Wellbutrin, and Neurontin.  RED FLAG!  The psychologist immediately blamed an IN-appropriate combination of the Celexa and Wellbutrin, and went into detail explaining the pharmacology of how Bupropion will increase the level of citalopram, affecting hepatic enzyme CYP2D6....well, you get the message - Not a good combination! 

Stacy immediately picked up in the dictation that the patient had given the 
WRONG medication name.  He was taking CELEBREX, NOT Celexa!  Huge difference here, as Celebrex is an anti-inflammatory medication, and very compatible with his other medications.   Stacy contacted the psychologist to make the correction, and assure the treatment plan stayed on track. 


If you’re not fortunate enough to have a JMS Case Manager working with you, watch out for misused medical terms as they can totally change the situation.  Sometimes with humor, but sometimes the outcome can be detrimental.
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