Approach to the Pediatric Prescription in a Community Pharmacy

Abstract

Pediatric patients are more susceptible to medication errors for a variety of reasons including physical and social differences and the necessity for patient-specific dosing. As such, community pharmacists may feel uncomfortable in verifying or dispensing a prescription for a pediatric patient. However, the use of a systematic approach to the pediatric prescription can provide confidence to pharmacists and minimize the possibility of a medication error. The objective of this article is to provide the community pharmacist with an overview of the potential areas of medication errors in a prescription for a pediatric patient. Additionally, the article guides the community pharmacist through a pediatric prescription, highlighting common areas of medication errors.

The knowledge of community pharmacists about appropriate dosing of antibiotics among paediatrics: A national study from Jordan

“…27 Further, as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is a multi-ingredient medication, it might be confusing for the pharmacists to know which agent determine the appropriate dose. 12 About 56% of community pharmacists correctly calculated the dose of azithromycin in case of acute bacterial pharyngitis. In a previous study in Jordan, it has been reported that ~57% of azithromycin cases were dispensed in doses higher than the recommended ones.…”

Pharmacists’ Approach to Optimise Safe Medication Use in Paediatric Patients

“…Paediatric-friendly formulations are limited, making safe medicine use challenging. The lack of paediatric-specific formulations often forces healthcare providers to use medicine off-label, resulting in medication errors [ 11 , 12 ]. Preference is given to liquid formulations due to easy administration compared to tablets and capsules.…”

“…A ‘medication error’ is a preventable event that occurs during any step of the medication use process (i.e., prescribing, preparing, dispensing, and administering) [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. However, when these errors are not prevented, it can lead to potentially harmful adverse events.…”

Positioning a Paediatric Compounded Non-Sterile Product Electronic Repository (pCNPeRx) within the Health Information Technology Infrastructure

“…Within the current electronic medication management system configuration, a number of special circumstances unique to children impact the safety and effectiveness of their pharmacotherapy [ 10 ], and have been noted elsewhere in this Special Edition [ 11 , 12 ]. The point of entry for eRx is in the provider’s office or in an institution such as hospitals.…”