Evaluating the impact of an indication-based, patient-specific prescribing tool on prescribing errors in paediatrics: a non-randomised, before-and-after study (12 September 2025)

Summary

Medication errors remain a major challenge in paediatric prescribing owing to the complexities of weight-based dosing, age-specific formulations and the need for precise calculations.

A new research study, published in BMJ Paediatrics Open, has shown that a digital tool called Touchdose significantly reduced the rate of paediatric prescribing errors from 7.1% to 1.2% at the St Mary’s Hospital site within the West London Children’s Healthcare partnership. This represents an 83% reduction in odds of error. The tool helps clinicians calculate the correct dosage of any drug that should be given to a patient - including frequency, duration and route of administration.

Dr Calandra Feather, who led the research as Clinical Safety Officer at Dosium and is also an Honorary Clinical Research Fellow with the NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC), said:

“This robust real-world evidence demonstrates the real positive impact of this technology in everyday clinical practice. Clinicians tell us not only about the remarkable safety benefits, but also about their reduced feelings of stress around prescribing - they feel confident in the knowledge that nothing is missed.

“These findings demonstrate the feasibility of embedding such systems into routine workflows. This is an important step forward in supporting clinicians and improving outcomes for children.”