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A doctor called the nursing unit to order Suprol, 500 mg, one tablet b.i.d. When the nurse discovered that the drug wasn't available, she called him back. What he'd actually said was Cipro, 500 mg.
When taking a verbal order, repeat what you heard. Because many drug names sound alike, you should also spell the name of the drug to verify it.
Doctors should include a strength with the drug name to help you identify the drug--even if it's available in only one strength. Also, if you know the patient's diagnosis, you can prevent errors by making sure that the therapy makes sense for the patient. In this case, the doctor might have said, "one tablet b.i.d. for urinary tract infection."