Joining Forces: How Parents Can Help Prevent Pediatric Medication Mistakes

Nearly all healthcare systems put in place certain measures to lower the potential for mistakes in treating patients. For some, that includes extensive training for all patient-facing staff and providers, while for others, initiatives include in-depth reporting and monitoring of patient outcomes from start to completion of treatment. However, as with any element of life where a human touch is involved, errors are bound to happen in medicine.

Pediatric healthcare is not protected from the possibility of healthcare mistakes, but the outcomes experienced by minor patients and their parents can be far more devastating than adult healthcare errors. Parents can take certain steps to help prevent the occurrence of mistakes in healthcare for their children, starting with understanding which errors are most common in pediatric medicine.

Common Child Healthcare Errors

Mistakes in pediatric medicine can result in moderate to severe outcomes for the child, but the most prevalent mistakes include the following:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of appendicitis
• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of meningitis
• Medication errors

Meningitis represents the most common child illness causing medical malpractice cases in the United States because it presents challenges to health care providers in diagnosis. Similarly, appendicitis is often misdiagnosed as a different issue altogether given that its symptoms mimic those of a urinary tract infection. These common conditions are not always avoidable, but medication errors, which constitute 5% of pediatric malpractice cases, can be prevented.

A representative from a leading team of medical negligence solicitors in the UK states, “Errors in medication come about in one of four ways: ordering, administration, transcription, and dispensing. When a medication mistake occurs, physicians are the cause 69% of the time, followed by nurses at 13%, and pharmacies at 8%.” The firm explains that parents have the ability to help reduce the prevalence of medication mistakes by taking charge of their child’s healthcare in strategic ways.

Asking Questions

It is common for parents of children utilizing the healthcare system to take a doctor’s recommendation or a nurse’s guidance as the absolute correct and appropriate course of action for a child’s treatment. Individuals are programmed not to question the advice or direction of a trained healthcare professional as to avoid being perceived as rude or pestering. However, probing for additional information is a necessary component of safeguarding a child’s medical care and preventing medication mistakes from wreaking havoc on their well-being.

When it comes to prescription medications given for the treatment of specific conditions, parents should ask questions like:

• How does this medication work to treat the illness?
• How long will it take to see an improvement in condition after the medication regimen is started?
• What are the dosage requirements for this medication?
• How should the medication be administered (liquid form, a pill, or a patch)?
• What are the potential side effects of this medication?

Each of these questions involves parents fully into the healthcare of a child, and they offer one method to ensure the provider understands how the medical treatment may affect the patient. Getting answers to questions about a specific prescription medication increases the trust between parent and provider which often leads to closer medication adherence – a leading factor in improving the child’s health. Asking the right questions also reduces the potential for errors linked to the administration of certain medications at home.

Sharing Information

In addition to asking questions regarding medications prescribed to minor patients, parents have both a right and a responsibility to effective communication with the pediatric care team. First, doctors, despite how rushed they may seem, owe each patient (and that patient’s parents) an opportunity to discuss the diagnosis, the recommended treatment, and any alternatives to treatment that may be relevant to the ongoing care of the child. Parents have a right to understand how a prescribed plan of care may positively and negatively impact their child, and what course of action may be taken should a problem arise during treatment. However, it is important for parents to understand that they have a responsibility in the communication exchange, too.

Offering up details about a child’s daily activities, dietary restrictions or needs, and other medications currently used allows the doctor or nurse to get a clear picture of the child’s treatment needs. Leaving out these details could cause complications with prescribed medication, leaving a child suffering from immediate, long-term effects. Parents also have a responsibility to share information about any allergies, previous bad reactions to medications, or other information about the child that may be relevant to the new course of treatment.

Medication errors in pediatric medicine do take place, but need not be an inevitable aspect of a child’s medical care. Parents can step up to the plate to prevent medication errors by understanding why mistakes happen, asking the right questions to clarify any unclear details, and working toward open communication with healthcare providers at every possible point of the process.