# \[e-drug\] Labelling of essential medicines is essential

**URL:** https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-labelling-of-essential-medicines-is-essential/15072
**Category:** e-drug
**Created:** [October 7, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-labelling-of-essential-medicines-is-essential/15072 "2002-10-07T01:16:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![stein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@stein](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/stein)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-labelling-of-essential-medicines-is-essential/15072/1 "2002-10-07T01:16:12Z")

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E-drug: Labelling of essential medicines is essential  
---------------------------------------------

I have been looking at the WHO website for essential medicines.  
I searched the site for the words label, labels, labeling and labelling.  
No hits.

Not one hit!

This reflects the serious situation that there is very little PRACTICAL  
information on the internet about labelling (=labels and leaflets) of  
medicines. And that there is close to zero research (scientific and/or in  
the industry) related to medical benefits of good labels.

The very first website devoted to this issue I believe is  
www.patientpacks.com in UK, created about two years ago by Idris Hughes and  
Simon Whitaker. Patientpacks.com has had a positive impact on the  
development on the problematic labelling situation on the British medicines  
market.

I have as a private citizen made a website on labelling of medicines  
www.lyftingsmo.no

Institute for Safe Medication Practice, ISMP www.ismp.org, and United States  
Pharmacopeia, USP www.usp.org, has issued some label recommendations, as a  
result of analysing cases of medication errors.

Communication Institute of Australia, CRIA www.communication.org.au, with  
David Sless has done important research on the design and performance of  
patient leaflets.

The International Pharmaceutical Federation, FIP has issued a statement as a  
professional standard: Guidelines for the labels of prescribed medicines  
[http://www.fip.org/resources/labelling-English.htm](http://www.fip.org/resources/labelling-English.htm)

Labelling of essential medicines is essential - but is not treated as that.

Stein Lyftingsmo  
Hospital Pharmacy of Elverum, Norway  
www.lyftingsmo.no  
stein@lyftingsmo.no  
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