Tall Man lettering
Encyclopedia
Tall Man lettering is the practice of writing part of a drug
's name in upper case letters to help distinguish sound-alike, look-alike drugs from one another in order to avoid medication errors. For example, in Tall Man lettering, "prednisone" and "prednisolone" should be written "predniSONE" and "prednisoLONE", respectively. The Office of Generic Drugs of the US Food and Drug Administration
encourages manufacturers
to use Tall Man lettering labels to visually differentiate their drugs' names, and a number of hospital
s, clinic
s, and health care systems use Tall Man lettering in their computerized order entry, automated dispensing machines, medication admission records, prescription labels, and drug product labels.
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
's name in upper case letters to help distinguish sound-alike, look-alike drugs from one another in order to avoid medication errors. For example, in Tall Man lettering, "prednisone" and "prednisolone" should be written "predniSONE" and "prednisoLONE", respectively. The Office of Generic Drugs of the US Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
encourages manufacturers
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
to use Tall Man lettering labels to visually differentiate their drugs' names, and a number of hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
s, and health care systems use Tall Man lettering in their computerized order entry, automated dispensing machines, medication admission records, prescription labels, and drug product labels.