APhA’s House of Delegates adopts new labeling, measuring policy for oral liquid meds

 

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association announced Thursday that its House of Delegates had voted to adopt a new policy concerning labeling and measuring of oral liquid medications at the APhA Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md. 

 

The policy is a move away from teaspoons and cups as a dosing devices, toward syringes that measure in milliliters. The new policy is also part of the organization’s partnerships with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on PROTECT, an initiative whose aim is the reduction of emergency room visits caused by overdosing on OTC or prescription medication. PROTECT also looks to promote safe medication packaging. 

 

Below is the text of the policy the House of Delegates adopted:

 

Labeling and Measurement of Oral Liquid Medications

1. APhA supports the use of the milliliter (mL) as the standard unit of measure for oral liquid medications.

2. APhA encourages the mandatory use of leading zeros before the decimal point for amounts of less than one on prescription-container labels for oral liquid medications.

3. APhA discourages the use of trailing zeros after the decimal point for amounts greater than one on prescription-container labels for oral liquid medications.

4. APhA supports access to and universal availability of dosing devices with numeric graduations that correspond to the unit of measure that is on the container’s label for oral liquid medications.