Weighing All Patients in Kilograms Position Statement-Weighing All Patients in Kilograms Position Statement

Pdf Summary

Medication errors, particularly dosing-related errors, are a significant problem in healthcare. One of the major causes of these errors is missing or inaccurate patient weights. In the emergency department (ED), where medication errors with serious consequences are common, obtaining accurate patient weights can be challenging. Patients weighing themselves in pounds and the need to convert to metric measurement increases the risk of errors. Incorrect weight documentation in the ED can lead to medication errors throughout the patient's hospital stay and even after discharge. Patients of all ages, especially those at greater risk such as pediatric and geriatric patients, are vulnerable to potentially fatal medication errors caused by incorrect weight documentation.<br /><br />To address this issue, the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) has developed a position statement with several recommendations. The ENA advocates for measuring, recording, communicating, and documenting patient weights in kilograms only. They recommend using scales configured to record weights in kilograms and providing conversion charts for pounds to kilograms for reference. Electronic health records (EHRs) should incorporate best practices for weight documentation, including kilogram-only weight fields and integration of weight data from scales. Hard stops should be implemented in EHRs to prevent drug orders without a documented weight in kilograms. In addition, preprinted order forms and prescriptions should prompt users to enter weight in kilograms, and patient weights in kilograms should be included in handoffs.<br /><br />Converting to metric weights and implementing these recommendations may require system-wide changes, but it is important for preventing medication errors. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention also support the use of metric weights in medication dosing. Strategies such as Clinical Decision Support and prescribing alerts have been shown to reduce weight-based medication errors. It is the responsibility of healthcare organizations and individual practitioners to implement and use these strategies to prevent medication errors.

Meta Tag

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Keywords

medication errors

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emergency department

metric measurement

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electronic health records

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Clinical Decision Support