British drug companies may be persuaded to follow in the footsteps of their US counterparts if proposals to simplify pharma Fix-a-Form labels go ahead.

According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, half of patients in the US currently misunderstand the dosage instructions on their prescriptions, sometimes with serious repercussions.

Now, an expert panel has been set up by the US Pharmacopeial Convention in order to campaign for clearer pharma labels on all medicines.

The panel has recommended putting the patient's name, drug name and strength at the top of the label, with things like the pharmacy details at the bottom to prevent them from distracting people.

Meanwhile, readability should be improved by utilising better fonts and colour combinations, as well as making sure the peelable label is in the right language.

"The label is the best instruction material we have because it's always with the medicine," pointed out Dr Joanne Schwartzberg.

A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine also recently suggested that pharma labels are too cluttered, with some listing an average of 70 possible side effects.

Denny Bros Ltd, 09 June 2011