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Find out the active ingredient and other brand names of your medicines with the NPS Medicine Name Finder
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A new way to find out medicine namesA new way to find out medicine names
Knowing the names of all your medicines can prevent you making mistakes that could make you unwell or even put you in hospital.
A common cause of mistakes is taking two brands of a medicine, because the person does not realise that the new medicine they have been given is just a different brand of their existing medicine.
Two names
Prescription medicines have two names: an active ingredient name and a brand name.
The active ingredient name is the name of the chemical in the medicine that makes it work as intended. The brand name is the name the manufacturer has given the medicine.
NPS Medicine Name Finder
If you use the internet, finding out the names of your prescription medicines is easier now thanks to the NPS Medicine Name Finder. It helps you work out the names of your medicines, and tells you which is the active ingredient name and which is the brand name.
Use the NPS Medicine Name Finder to:
- learn which is the active ingredient name and which is the brand name of your medicine
- make sure that any new medicines you have been given do not have the same active ingredient as any of your existing medicines.
For example, knowing the active ingredient names of all your medicines is particularly useful if you are in hospital. In hospitals, medicines are usually referred to by their active ingredient names, not their brand names. Knowing the active ingredient names of your medicines will mean that you know which of your medicines the doctors and nurses are talking about.
Prescription medicines have two names:
an active ingredient name and a brand name.
How to use the NPS Medicine Name Finder
- Go to Medicine Name Finder website
- Type in your medicine name, be it the active ingredient name or the brand name
- Click on ‘Search’.
MedicinesTalk is a free quarterly newsletter for consumers written by consumers about using medicines wisely. Subscribe to the hard copy version using our online ordering system, or write to MedicinesTalk, National Prescribing Service Limited, PO Box 1147, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012.
Date published: 2009-10-27 00:00:00
Reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the date of creation. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified health professional. Health professionals should rely on their own expertise and enquiries when providing medical advice or treatment. Where permitted by law, NPS disclaims all liability (including for negligence) for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Read our full disclaimer.
References to brands should not be taken as an endorsement by NPS.
