Pediatric Medication Error Prevention in the Community Setting

Pediatric Medication Error Prevention in the Community Setting
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ACPE Universal Program Number: 207-000-09-001-H05-P
Release Date: January 1, 2009
Expiration Date: January 1, 2012

Statement of Need
Medication safety has been in the forefront of the health care industry over the past few years as it receives growing media attention. But there is an equal concern for errors that are occurring outside of these facilities in community medical practices and pharmacies, especially in pediatric patients. Medication errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including miscommunication of drug orders due to poor handwriting, confusion between drugs with similar names, and confusion between metric and other standard dosing units. Pharmacists can play a key role in reducing medication errors, and there are numerous resources available to assist them in this effort.

Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this activity, the pharmacist should be able to:

Understand the importance of pediatric dosing.

Evaluate dosing tools for measuring liquid medications.

Review medication error prevention strategies for children.

Review the dangers of OTC medications in children.

Emphasize the importance of patient counseling involving children.

Target Audience
The target audience for this activity is pharmacists.

Instructions for Participation
To receive a certificate of completion that indicates your eligibility for continuing education credit, you must:

Review the content of the activity.

Successfully complete the post-test (70% or higher).

You will have two (2) opportunities to successfully complete the activity.

Your statement of credit will be issued immediately upon successful completion of the post-test and submission of the evaluation.

Fee
There is no fee for this activity.

Accreditation
Pharmacists
ACPE logo NCPA is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This program will provide 2.0 contact hours (.20 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy education credit under the number 207-000-09-001-H05-P.

Faculty
Tara L. Smith, PharmD, is the clinical pharmacy manager at Sacred Heart Hospital, Children's Hospital in Pensacola, Florida.

Marroyln L. Simmons, PharmD, is a pediatric clinical pharmacy specialist at Sacred Heart Hospital, Children's Hospital in Pensacola, Florida.

Disclosure Declaration
It is the policy of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, scientific rigor, and integrity in all of their continuing education activities.

The author, sponsor, and publisher of this continuing education activity have made all reasonable efforts to ensure that information contained herein is accurate in accordance with the latest available scientific knowledge at the time of accreditation of this continuing education program. Information regarding drugs (e.g., their administration, dosages, contraindications, adverse reactions, interactions, special warnings, precautions) and drug delivery systems are subject to change, however, the reader is advised to check the manufacturer's package insert for information concerning recommended dosage and potential problems or cautions prior to dispensing or administering the drug or using the drug delivery systems.

Approval of credit for this continuing education activity does not imply endorsement by NCPA of any product or manufacturer identified.

Any medications or treatment methods suggested in this CE activity should not be used by the practitioner without evaluation of their patient's condition(s) and possible contraindication(s) or danger(s) of use of any specific medication.

Software Requirement

PC Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater Firefox Windows 2000 SE or greater *Adobe Acrobat Reader	MAC Safari Firefox Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh.
*REQUIRED TO VIEW PRINTABLE VERSION OF CE LESSON

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