Merits of using color and shape differentiation to improve the speed and accuracy of drug strength identification on over-the-counter medicines by laypeople.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the utility of using color and shape to differentiate drug strength information on over-the-counter medicine packages. Medication errors are an important threat to patient safety, and confusions between drug strengths are a significant source of medication error.

METHOD

A visual search paradigm required laypeople to search for medicine packages of a particular strength from among distracter packages of different strengths, and measures of reaction time and error were recorded.

RESULTS

Using color to differentiate drug strength information conferred an advantage on search times and accuracy. Shape differentiation did not improve search times and had only a weak effect on search accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

Using color to differentiate drug strength information improves drug strength identification performance. Color differentiation of drug strength information may be a useful way of reducing medication errors and improving patient safety.