A recent Med Page Today article discussed a study in which researchers monitored 500 parents giving medication to their children. The study showed that 83.5% of parents made an error, and 29.3% more than doubled the suggested dose. The authors of the study suggest that providing parents with proper dosing tools that are the right size can have a major impact on compliance.
Parents were least likely to mess up doses when the measuring tool closely matched the dose instructions on the label, and when only one unit of measure was listed on the dosing tool. Shonna Yin of New York University, a coauthor on the study, suggests system-wide changes in how pharmaceutical companies design labels and measuring devices. In response to the study, Harvard Health Publications provided an article entitled, “4 Ways to Avoid Mistakes with Liquid Medicines.”
