New drug naming system unveiled

What's in a name? Doctors have found that the name of the drug prescribed significantly influences how the patient sees the treatment.
In a significant shift, the world's major psychiatry organisations are proposing a new drug naming system.
The new approach will eliminate any confusion the patients may have after being prescribed a drug for what appears to be an unrelated condition.
The system proposes a complete change in the terminology of the drugs used in mental disorders, shifting it from symptom based (eg antidepressant, antipsychotic etc) to pharmacologically based (eg focusing on pharmacological target (serotonin, dopamine etc) and the relevant mode of action.

The new terminology is being presented to international clinicians at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference here.
This international launch marks the start of a process of discussion and negotiation between academics, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory bodies, researchers said.

The rigorous nature of the new nomenclature means that this can be supported by an app, which will assist clinicians in making the correct treatment choices.
In psychiatry, drug names can cause more problems than they solve; for example, a patient may be being treated for anxiety, and yet may be prescribed an "antidepressant" or an "antipsychotic," and the stigma of being prescribed an antipsychotic can make the patient even more anxious.

Often this means that patients stop taking the drug for fear of the association with the different disease.
The terminology of the drugs used by
Neuropsychopharmacologists (mostly psychiatrists looking at how drugs affect the mind) is based on a classification developed in the 1960's. This often leads to confusion in both patients, and a lack of clarity in doctors.
"As in many fields, what we know about drugs has evolved enormously since the 1960s, but the names we use to describe these drugs have not evolved in 50 years," said Professor Josef Zohar from the Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Most drugs have more than one effect, and this can lead to great confusion in patients. For example, some 'antipsychotics' are used to treat depression (somewhat like Aspirin is taken for headaches, but also to help prevent heart disease).

So the Joint Taskforce on Nomenclature has agreed that the nomenclature of drugs used in mental health need to reflect how the drugs work, rather than any one single use.