Up to 25 percent of drug errors occur when the name of one medication looks or sounds like another--a problem compounded by poor penmanship, sloppy pronunciation, mistaken memory, and hard-to-read labels.

For example, a pharmacist who was asked to fill a prescription for Lunesta confused the sleeping pill with the soundalike drug Neulasta, which is actually used in chemotherapy, according to recent error reports submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. Fortunately, that mistake was corrected before the drug reached the patient. Medication errors not only delay treatment for the real problem, but they also can lead to annoying side effects, serious harm, or even death. Here are some strategies for protecting yourself:

• When your doctor prescribes a drug, ask him or her to print the name for you or spell it aloud. If it's a brand-name drug, make note of the generic name as well.
• Ask your doctor to briefly note the drug's intended purpose on the prescription form. That will enable the pharmacist to double-check the name against that purpose.
• Before filling your prescription, have your doctor describe what the medication should look like. If you spot a difference in the color, size, or shape of your pills, tell your pharmacist immediately.
• Don't leave the pharmacist's counter until you've checked the label on your prescription to verify that it's the right drug.
• Choose over-the-counter medications by their active ingredients, not by brand name. Drug manufacturers often use well-established brand names to launch a series of related--but different--products.
• Find out what the therapeutic effects and side effects of your medication are. Once you start taking the drug, be alert to any unforeseen effects, which could signal a mix-up.
• Maintain a complete list of all the drugs you take, prescription and over-the-counter, including dosages as well as brand and generic names. Update the list monthly, and bring it with you whenever you visit your doctor or drugstore. For a list of soundalike or look-alike drugs, visit the Web site for the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.