Key Takeaways
- West Middlesex University Hospital has implemented the Dosium Touchdose tool to enhance pediatric prescribing safety, going live on April 2, 2025.
- Usage of Touchdose has reportedly reduced prescribing errors by 83%, significantly lowering error rates in pediatric care.
- The initiative is part of a broader strategy across West London Children’s Healthcare, benefiting 150,000 children annually.
New Safety Tool for Pediatric Prescribing
West Middlesex University Hospital has introduced a clinical decision support tool, Dosium Touchdose, aimed at minimizing prescribing errors for children. Launched on April 2, 2025, the technology will be utilized in both the emergency department and the general medicine department. Its functionality includes automatic dosage calculations based on electronic health records, local prescribing guidelines, and a real-time connection to the British National Formulary for Children.
Professor Ian Maconochie, chief clinical information officer at West London Children’s Healthcare, emphasized the significance of this development, noting that it not only marks a milestone in the partnership with Dosium but also enhances safety for patients. The unified, evidence-based dosing approach provided by Touchdose is expected to improve clinician confidence while alleviating cognitive burdens in high-pressure situations.
This rollout represents the conclusion of the Touchdose implementation across the West London Children’s Healthcare (WLCH) partnership, which serves approximately 150,000 children each year at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Earlier deployments took place in March 2025 at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and in August 2024 at St Mary’s Hospital.
Statistics reveal that clinicians utilizing Touchdose have shown an 83% reduced likelihood of making prescribing errors compared to those who do not use the tool. Since the launch at St Mary’s Hospital, the prescribing error rate has decreased from 7.1% to 1.2%. Such numbers highlight the serious issue of medication errors, with national estimates indicating 237 million medication errors annually in England. Out of these, around 66 million are classified as ‘clinically significant’, resulting in harm or necessitating further medical intervention.
Moreover, prescribing errors contribute to over 1,700 deaths within the NHS each year. Children are particularly at risk due to their smaller sizes and narrower dosing margins, meaning even slight mistakes can lead to severe consequences.
Nicholas Appelbaum, CEO and cofounder of Dosium, commended WLCH for taking significant steps toward improving prescribing safety through a coordinated approach. He noted that such measures not only reduce errors but also ensure a consistent standard of care for children across all WLCH facilities.
Additionally, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has initiated a pilot of the CLEO SOLO electronic prescribing solution in its children’s services as of March 2025, aimed at addressing the challenges present in traditional manual prescribing methods. This enhances ongoing efforts to improve safety across pediatric healthcare.
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