CMT Patient Safety and Rights 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient tells the medication technician that another staff member took money from their wallet. What should the technician do?
- Ignore it because the patient has dementia and may be confused
- Report the allegation immediately to the supervisor and follow facility policy (Correct answer)
- Confront the accused staff member directly
- Ask other residents if they have noticed missing items
Correct answer: Report the allegation immediately to the supervisor and follow facility policy
All allegations of theft or financial exploitation must be reported to the supervisor immediately regardless of the patient's cognitive status.
Question 2: Which safety practice helps prevent medication errors related to look-alike or sound-alike drug names?
- Memorizing which medications look similar
- Reading the medication label three times: before, during, and after preparation (Correct answer)
- Relying on the pharmacist to catch errors before dispensing
- Grouping similar-looking medications together for easy access
Correct answer: Reading the medication label three times: before, during, and after preparation
The three-check rule — verifying the label before, during, and after preparation — is a standard safety practice to prevent errors with look-alike or sound-alike drugs.
Question 3: A resident asks a medication technician for a copy of their medical records. How should the technician respond?
- Provide the records immediately from the chart
- Inform the patient of their right to request records and direct them to the appropriate person or department (Correct answer)
- Tell the patient that records are only available to physicians
- Deny the request to protect other patients' information in the chart
Correct answer: Inform the patient of their right to request records and direct them to the appropriate person or department
Patients have a legal right to access their medical records; the technician should acknowledge this right and direct the patient to the appropriate person.
Question 4: When should a medication technician wash their hands during medication administration?
- Only before starting the medication pass
- Before and after administering medications to each patient (Correct answer)
- Only when hands are visibly soiled
- After completing the entire medication pass
Correct answer: Before and after administering medications to each patient
Hand hygiene must be performed before and after each patient contact to prevent cross-contamination and protect patient safety.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of the least restrictive environment principle in medication administration?
- Using physical restraints to administer medication to an uncooperative patient
- Offering medication in different acceptable forms before considering other interventions (Correct answer)
- Requesting a court order to force medication compliance
- Locking medications away from patient access at all times
Correct answer: Offering medication in different acceptable forms before considering other interventions
Trying alternative acceptable formulations (liquid vs. tablet) is a least-restrictive approach before escalating to more intrusive interventions.
Question 6: A patient is receiving a new medication and asks what it is for. What is the medication technician's appropriate response?
- Tell the patient not to worry and that the doctor ordered it
- Provide basic information about the medication and refer clinical questions to the nurse (Correct answer)
- Explain the detailed pharmacology of the drug
- Refuse to answer, citing liability concerns
Correct answer: Provide basic information about the medication and refer clinical questions to the nurse
Medication technicians can provide basic information but should refer clinical or therapeutic questions to the supervising nurse.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of an incident report following a medication error?
- To assign blame to the responsible staff member
- To document what happened in order to improve safety and prevent future errors (Correct answer)
- To notify the patient's family of the mistake
- To satisfy legal requirements for malpractice claims
Correct answer: To document what happened in order to improve safety and prevent future errors
Incident reports are a quality improvement tool designed to identify system failures and prevent recurrence, not to assign blame.
CMT Patient Safety and Rights 3
A patient tells the medication technician that another staff member took money from their wallet.
What should the technician do?