Medication Safety in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Big Measures for Our Smallest Patients.

The incidence and consequences of medication errors in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) demonstrate the importance of established safety procedures and guidelines for the prescribing, dispensing, and administration of medications. As the professional voice of neonatal nurses, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) recommends that appropriate measures and education be made available to everyone who prescribes or administers medications in the NICU and that members be proactive in participating in the development and implementation of safe medication practices in the NICU. Procedures, safeguards, and strategies that ensure accurate administration of medications to the smallest and most fragile patient populations are at the forefront of concerns for bedside practitioners in the NICU setting. Healthcare providers need to ensure that drug therapy achieves maximum benefits and avoids therapeutic disasters. Organizational, environmental, and human factors should be taken into consideration when policies and procedures for medication administration and safety are developed.