Commission warns about drug errors

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – The Joint Commission, which accredits health care facilities, issued an alert this month to try to reduce the incidence of medication errors, which it said are three times as common with pediatric patients as with adults.
The Sentinel Event Alert noted that health care facilities frequently administer drugs made for adults to children, and there is a substantial risk that the wrong dose will be given. In addition, while adults might say something if they perceive a problem, children often cannot.
Errors often arise because hospitals have to prepare special volumes or concentrations to administer to children, because the formulas and packages are made for adults, the alert says. This, in turn, requires calculations and adjustments that increase the risk for error.
The alert urges greater attention to precautions such as medication standardization, improved medication identification and communication techniques, as well as the use of kilograms as the standard weight measurement to calculate proper dosages. &#8226