Schools Need Our Help in Preventing Medication Errors

Valerie Ulene:

Schools are under an incredible strain to simply educate children — let alone medicate them — so it's hardly surprising that dispensing drugs at school leads to an alarming number of errors. The surprise is that parents and doctors don't work harder to prevent them.

The laws requiring schools to dispense drugs were designed to protect children with medical problems, such as asthma and diabetes. Such kids wouldn't be safe at school if their medications weren't available.

ut a large, and growing, number of children are taking a wide variety of medications, including psychoactive drugs, that frequently have little to do with safety. Instead, the drugs are often prescribed — at least in part — to improve attentiveness and concentration and to enhance academic performance.

The resulting burden for schools is enormous. About 5% of children receive medication during a typical school day. Each year, the Los Angeles Unified School District dispenses about 450,000 doses of medications.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 9, 2006 1:28 PM
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