Children are uniquely vulnerable to medication errors

The prescription, dispensing, and administration of medications account for a substantial portion of the preventable medical errors that occur with children

Accurate pediatric medication administration requires knowledge of the child’s weight, age, height, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics

Many children have infrequent follow up with consulting physician specialists resulting in significant delays in necessary changes to pharmacotherapy plans

Adult formulation of medications are often not appropriate for administration in the pediatric population. Selection of appropriate preparations and concentrations is of paramount importance as it allows doses to be accurately measured and administered, especially liquid medications

Nursing facilities accepting Medicare and Medicaid funding must  have medication error rate to less than 5%

Numerous publications have reinforced the economic benefit provided by pharmacist intervention for prevention of adverse events