APhA Policy Manual

Labeling and Measurement of Oral Liquid Medications

LABELING MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL EQUIPMENT AND PRODUCTS PHARMACY PRACTICE

APhA supports the use of the milliliter (mL) as the standard unit of measure for oral liquid medications.
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.
APhA discourages the use of trailing zeros after the decimal point for amounts greater than one on prescription-container labels for oral liquid medications.
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.