What effect does the name of a drug have?

Simply pronounceable drug names lead to increased dosage
The name of medicines has a significant influence on the application behavior of patients. However, according to a recent study by psychologists at the University of Cologne, this also carries the risk of overdosing on medicines that have a particularly easy-to-pronounce name.

From earlier studies it was already known that drug names that can be pronounced fluent without much difficulty, enjoy in patients of increased popularity, report Simone Dohle and colleagues from the Social Cognition Center Cologne (SoCCCo) of the University of Cologne. In their current study, the scientists were able to prove that the name of the drug name also influences the dosage behavior, which may be associated with significant risks. The researchers published their study results in the journal "Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied".

The name of a drug has a far-reaching effect on the behavior of the patient. (Image: denisismagilov / fotolia.com)

Promotes potentially risky medical behavior?
In their current study, the scientists investigated possible connections between the so-called "processing fluency" of drug names and the dosing behavior of the patients. According to the researchers, the question also arose as to whether a high processing fluid leads to a potentially dangerous medical behavior. In two controlled experiments, it has been shown that the drug dose used increases with easily pronounceable drug names.

Increased dosage with simple names
While complicated drug names are more likely to be associated with an increased risk of dangerous side effects, simple expressions seem to promote trivialization of the drugs. For example, in the first experiment of the Cologne-based psychologists, it was shown that "drugs with a fluent name are perceived to be safer than those with disfluent names," Dohle and colleagues report. This effect has led to increased drug dosing of both synthetic and herbal medicines. In a second experiment, the researchers found that people choose a higher drug dosage for themselves and for a child if the drug has a fluent pronounceable name.

Far-reaching effect of the drug names
"Our results indicate that the name of a drug is a strong factor influencing the dosage behavior," the scientists emphasize. Apparently, ineffable drugs are considered riskier, while easily pronounceable names are associated with more gentle medicines. According to the latest study results, this also has an effect on the dosage of the medication used. Therefore, "drugs with strong side effects have quite complicated names," the study leader is quoted by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". This reduces the risk of patients taking too much of it.

Complicated drug names deter
The experts explain the effect of the drug name on the dosage with the ease of information processing, which is much more difficult with a bulky drug name. This tends to lead to a rejection due to the increased information expenditure. In the case of catchy, easily pronounceable drug names, however, the opposite effect was observed. (Fp)