Sentinel Event Alert 39: Preventing pediatric medication errors

Errors associated with medications are believed to be the most common type of medical error and are a significant cause of preventable adverse events. Experts agree that medication errors have the potential to cause harm within the pediatric population at a higher rate than in the adult population. For example, medication dosing errors are more common in pediatrics than adults because of weight-based dosing calculations, fractional dosing (e.g., mg vs. Gm), and the need for decimal points.