A brief guide to splitting pills safely
Most people wouldn’t think twice about splitting medications that come in tablet form, but in some cases, doing so risks the possibility that the medication dose will be inaccurate, which could have clinical consequences. Studies show that the actual dose in each half of a split tablet is often different, so they are not equal. Some halves have more medicine, others have less medicine, even if the tablet is scored (a depressed line in the center of a tablet that helps you split the tablet).
By guest blogger Michael R. Cohen: President of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices
You may have seen a brief article in today’s Inquirer about splitting prescription drug tablets. The article mentioned a Belgian study showing that measured doses of critical drugs cut in half could be off by 25% or more. So it seems reasonable to recommend what the article did - that tablets should never be split. Well, not so fast. There are in fact many reasons that doctors and pharmacists condone splitting tablets. So let’s take a closer look at the practice and discuss circumstances under which it can be done safely and effectively.
Most oral medications in tablet form are available commercially in the dosage strengths most commonly prescribed for patients. Occasionally though, the patient’s exact dose is not available commercially, so more than one tablet may be needed. Or, in some cases, just part of a tablet may be needed, which means it has to be split.
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