Joint Commission issues warning on child med errors

As we reported earlier this week, a new study found that one of 15 hospitalized children is harmed, most often by medication errors. Now, following up on that study, the Commission has released an alert urging hospitals to take children's unique safety needs into account. The new alert asks hospitals to weigh children in kilograms when admitted, given that such weights routinely are used to calculate medication doses for children. Hospitals that weigh children in pounds increase the risk of giving the child a double dose, they noted. The Commission also reminded hospitals to clearly mark products that get repacked from adult formulations for use in children, keep adult meds away from pediatric units, and avoid storing adult and children's meds in the same dispensing machine or cabinet.

To learn more about the Joint Commission's recommendations:
- read this Associated Press article
- read this Joint Commission press release

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