Inaccurate assessment of pediatric patient weight can lead to medication dosing errors. In simulated pediatric scenarios, pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS) crews obtained patient weight using one or more of three methods: asking parent, using patient age, and Broselow-Luten Tape (BLT). BLT was the most frequent method used and patient age resulted in the most frequent dosing errors. Systems-based solutions are presented.

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) often make dosing errors when administering medication to pediatric patients. This study found that in simulations, Michigan's state-wide pediatric dosing reference system reduced but did not eliminate prehospital provider medication mistakes. A PSNet perspective further explores prehospital patient safety.

Simulations of prehospital pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest uncovered many potential errors. Most notably, medication errors related to the correct weight-based dosing of epinephrine were common. This mistake can have serious consequences and warrants further efforts to mitigate this risk.

This study used a simulation exercise to uncover error types (e.g., cognitive, procedural, and teamwork) that impact the prehospital care of ill and injured children. The findings generated a series of recommendations to emergency medical services agencies to improve the safety of care delivery.

This study reports on the development of a teamwork training program based on principles initially developed in the aviation industry.

This case analysis explains how crew resource management training provides an opportunity to identify latent failures and delineate resolution strategies.

The 2005 Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act calls for creation of a national, voluntary error reporting system. This article discusses the scope and essential components of such a system, as well as what other industries can teach health care about error reporting systems.

The authors share the recommendations of an expert task force on areas of research needed to advance simulation use in medical education.

The authors discuss the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 and describe how it provides opportunities for safety improvement by enhancing both incident reporting and transparency about error.