Background: The acronym LASA (look-alike sound-alike) denotes the problem of confusing similar- looking and/or sounding drugs accidentally. The most common causes of medication error jeopardizing patient safety are LASA as well as high workload. Case presentation: A critical incident report of medication errors of opioids for postoperative analgesia by lookalike packaging highlights the LASA aspects in everyday scenarios. A change to a generic brand of medication saved costs of up to 16% per annum. Consequently, confusion of medication incidents occurred due to the similar appearance of the newly introduced generic opioid. Due to consecutive underdosing no life-threatening situation arose out of this LASA based medication error. Conclusion: Current recommendations for the prevention of LASA are quite extensive; still, in a system with a lump sum payment per case not all of these security measures may be feasible. This issue remains to be approached on an individual basis, taking into consideration local set ups as well as financial issues.

Background: The acronym LASA (look-alike sound-alike) denotes the problem of confusing similar- looking and/or sounding drugs accidentally. The most common causes of medication error jeopardizing patient safety are LASA as well as high workload. Case presentation: A critical incident report of medication errors of opioids for postoperative analgesia by lookalike packaging highlights the LASA aspects in everyday scenarios. A change to a generic brand of medication saved costs of up to 16% per annum. Consequently, confusion of medication incidents occurred due to the similar appearance of the newly introduced generic opioid. Due to consecutive underdosing no life-threatening situation arose out of this LASA based medication error. Conclusion: Current recommendations for the prevention of LASA are quite extensive; still, in a system with a lump sum payment per case not all of these security measures may be feasible. This issue remains to be approached on an individual basis, taking into consideration local set ups as well as financial issues.

Le témoignage oculaire est un élément fondamental de la résolution des enquêtes criminelles. Pour la bonne conduite des enquêtes judiciaires, il apparait primordial d’obtenir des témoignages exhaustifs et exacts. C'est ainsi qu’une équipe de recherche a conçu une méthode basée sur les principes du fonctionnement de la mémoire ayant pour but l’optimisation du recueil des propos du témoin : l’entretien cognitif (Geiselman et al. 1984). Si cette méthode permet d’obtenir des descriptions détaillées sans diminution de la qualité du témoignage, elle est néanmoins marginalement utilisée par les professionnels de la justice. L’objectif de cette thèse est double : il s’agit de proposer une consigne d’entretien qui prend en compte les processus psychologiques en œuvre dans le rappel d’un évènement en mémoire épisodique, et qui soit acceptable du point de vue des pratiques professionnelles. Une première étape a consisté en l’analyse des pratiques professionnelles. L’évaluation d’une formation à l’entretien cognitif auprès d’enquêteurs de police a montré que la méthode est facilement assimilable par les enquêteurs, suggérant que sa non-application sur le terrain ne résiderait pas dans sa difficulté d’utilisation, mais relèverait plutôt de problèmes d’acceptabilité de la part des professionnels. Pour comprendre les objectifs professionnels de l’audition, nous avons ensuite procédé à une analyse des pratiques en termes d’audition. Cette analyse a révélé que les enquêteurs recherchaient de façon prépondérante des informations sur les actions d’une scène criminelle. Sur la base de ces constats, nous avons conçu une consigne dite de reconstitution, qui fait appel aux traces verbatim en mémoire, et vise à apporter des actions générales et spécifiques d’une scène. La consigne a été testée dans un protocole d’entretien et a démontré son efficacité aussi bien quantitative que qualitative, en apportant davantage d’informations correctes sur une scène comparée à d’autres consignes, sans augmentation concomitante du nombre d’erreurs. Il apparait que la consigne de reconstitution répond de façon pertinente au principal objectif d’une enquête de police. / Eyewitness testimony is a fundamental determinant to the resolution of criminal investigations. To conduct criminal investigations effectively, it appears essential to obtain complete and accurate testimony. For this purpose, a research team has developed a method based on the features of human memory, aiming to enhance the eliciting of eyewitness accounts: the cognitive interview (Geiselman et al., 1984). Although this method enables investigators to obtain detailed descriptions without reducing the quality of the testimony, it is still only marginally used by legal professionals. The objective of this thesis is twofold: it aims to provide interviewing instructions which take into account the psychological processes at work in the recalling of events in episodic memory, while simultaneously being acceptable from the standpoint of professional practice. The first step involved conducting an analysis of professional practices. An evaluation of training in cognitive interviewing by police investigators showed that the method is easily learnt and suggests that the lack of implementation in practice does not stem from the difficulties linked to its implementation, but rather arises as a result of a lack of acceptance among professionals. In order to further our understanding of the professional objectives of the hearing, we then conducted an analysis of practices in terms of hearing. This analysis revealed that investigators were essentially seeking out information about the actions which took place during the crime scene. Based on these findings, we designed a re-enactment-alike interviewing instruction, which activates the verbatim traces in memory and is intended to elicit the general and specific actions of a scene. This instruction was tested in an interviewing protocol and demonstrated its quantitative and qualitative effectiveness in providing a greater quantity of correct information compared with other instructions, whilst withstanding a concomitant increase in the number of errors. Re-enactment-alike instruction thus appears highly relevant for reaching the main objective of a police investigation.