RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Minimising medication errors in children
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 161
OP 164
DO 10.1136/adc.2007.116442
VO 94
IS 2
A1 I C K Wong
A1 L Y L Wong
A1 N E Cranswick
YR 2009
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/94/2/161.abstract
AB Medical errors are a major problem in the UK and other countries. Apart from the direct expense to the healthcare system, there are great personal costs to those involved including patients, their families and staff, and public confidence is undermined. Therefore, policy initiatives have been implemented to reduce such mistakes. Medication errors are thought to be the most common type of medical errors, with the majority of studies being conducted in adults. However, recent evidence highlights the fact that medication errors are also a significant problem in the paediatric population. This paper reviews the factors contributing to paediatric medication errors, including lack of appropriate paediatric formulations, communication issues between health professionals, dose calculation mistakes and inadequate clinical practice. This review will also discuss risk reduction strategies such as electronic prescribing and computerised physician order entry (CPOE) systems which can significantly reduce paediatric medication errors in conjunction with pharmacist monitoring, improved communication and environments which promote best practice.