Medication errors resulting from initial inappropriate prescribing
are common among the pediatric population, occurring
in as many as 15% of pediatric outpatient prescriptions.1,2
Medication errors in pediatric patients carry a significantly
greater potential to cause harm than medication errors in the
adult population. Because of variations in sizes, children are
susceptible to 10- to 100-fold dosing errors.3 Accurate weight
and appropriate drug concentration and formulation are critical
to prescribe and administer pediatric medications accurately.
Safe and effective dosing of medications for the
pediatric population is critical. Most outpatient community
pharmacies do not have a procedure to prevent pediatric
dosing errors. Subsequently, error prevention strategies in this
area are widely untested.