How to Stop Kids’ Medication Errors

It is not uncommon for children to be given improper doses of medication during hospital stays, finds a new report from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), an organization that establishes standards to ensure medication quality. Dosage errors occur when a decimal point is misplaced on a medication’s chart or when an incorrect weight conversion (from pounds to kilograms) is made, says the USP.


Doctors must consider a child’s age, weight and medication-dosing frequencies, along with a number of other factors, to help ensure a correct dosage. Given all that, it’s not surprising that errors occur. In December 2002, USP released an analysis of medication errors reported in 2001 by MEDMARX, an anonymous, national reporting database operated by USP. Of the 105,603 errors documented, 3,361 involved children from birth to age 16.


To help protect your child from medication errors, the USP advises taking the following safety measures:




  • On admittance to the hospital, provide the doctor with an up-to-date list of all medicines (prescription and over-the-counter) and dietary supplements your child is taking. This will help minimize medication errors and prevent drug interactions.


  • Make sure your child’s doctor is aware of any allergies your child has. For life-threatening allergies, be sure your child wears a medical-alert bracelet at all times.


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