Simplest Way to Memorize Brand Names of Medications (Free Android Application)

There are many ways to memorize trade names of drugs, but few are as effective or efficient as this. Guess Drugs is a free Android app and probably the easiest and fastest way that I have found to learn the brand names of medications. I started using it in medical school, and I still use it from time to time. It's really worth checking out if you want a great strategy for memorizing medications.

Generic Names vs. Brand name - What's the difference?

An international nonproprietary name (INN) is an official generic and non-proprietary name given to a pharmaceutical drug or an active ingredient. INNs are intended to make communication more precise by providing a unique standard name for each active ingredient, to avoid prescribing errors. 

For drugs that made it all the way through development, testing, and regulatory acceptance, the pharmaceutical company then provides that drug a trade name, which is a standard term in the pharmaceutical industry for a brand name or a trademark name.

For example, Lipitor® is Pfizer's trade name for atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medication. Many drugs have multiple trade names, reflecting marketing in different countries, manufactured by different companies, or both. Thus the trade names for atorvastatin include not only Lipitor® but also Atocor® Sortis® etc.

Guess Drugs: Free Android App for memorizing Brand Names of Drugs

Guess Drugs is a free Android app that utilizes the simple memorization technique through the use of trial and error. If used every day it utilizes the effect of spaced repetition and enhances memorization.

Gameplay is simple: Guess Drugs randomly serves combinations of brand and generic names, which can be correct or incorrect. For every combination, you have 10 seconds to answer. If if the time limit is exceeded, the answer is counted as wrong. Every time a wrong answer is given, the player's life count decreases. 

The application is free and you can even play it offline anytime.

You can get it from Google Play.