CMT Regulations and Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a medication order is unclear or illegible, what should a medication technician do?
- Administer the most likely medication based on experience
- Ask another medication technician to interpret the order
- Clarify the order with the supervising nurse before administering (Correct answer)
- Skip the medication until the next scheduled pass
Correct answer: Clarify the order with the supervising nurse before administering
An unclear or illegible order must never be acted upon without clarification from the supervising nurse to prevent medication errors.
Question 2: Which regulation prohibits the use of unnecessary physical or chemical restraints in nursing facilities?
- HIPAA
- OBRA '87 (Correct answer)
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- DEA Controlled Substances Act
Correct answer: OBRA '87
OBRA '87 includes provisions that protect residents' rights and restrict the use of chemical and physical restraints to only medically necessary situations.
Question 3: A medication technician is asked to crush a resident's medication to mix it in food without the resident's knowledge. This action is:
- Acceptable if the nurse approves
- A violation of the resident's right to informed consent (Correct answer)
- Standard practice for residents with swallowing difficulties
- Only permissible for Schedule IV medications
Correct answer: A violation of the resident's right to informed consent
Covertly administering medications without a resident's knowledge violates their right to informed consent and is considered a form of medication deception.
Question 4: The 'five rights' of medication administration are intended to:
- Satisfy DEA audit requirements
- Reduce medication errors by verifying key safety checks before each administration (Correct answer)
- Replace the need for a physician's order
- Document the cost of medications for billing
Correct answer: Reduce medication errors by verifying key safety checks before each administration
The five rights (right patient, drug, dose, route, time) are a foundational safety standard designed to prevent medication administration errors.
Question 5: Under HIPAA, a medication technician may share a resident's medication information with:
- Any staff member who asks
- Only those directly involved in the resident's care (Correct answer)
- The resident's neighbor who expressed concern
- Local news media if there is a public health concern
Correct answer: Only those directly involved in the resident's care
HIPAA's minimum necessary standard restricts sharing of protected health information to those with a legitimate care-related need to know.
Question 6: Which documentation practice is correct when a medication technician makes an error on the MAR?
- Use correction fluid (white-out) to cover the mistake
- Scribble over the error so it is unreadable
- Draw a single line through the error, initial it, and note 'error' (Correct answer)
- Tear out the page and start a new record
Correct answer: Draw a single line through the error, initial it, and note 'error'
Legal documentation requires that errors be corrected by drawing a single line through the mistake, writing 'error,' and initialing it so the original entry remains visible.
Question 7: A CMT is authorized to administer medications in most states under what condition?
- After completing a 4-year nursing degree
- Under the delegation and supervision of a licensed nurse (Correct answer)
- Independently once state certification is obtained
- Only in acute care hospital settings
Correct answer: Under the delegation and supervision of a licensed nurse
CMTs operate under the delegation of a licensed nurse, who retains accountability and must be available to supervise the medication technician.
CMT Regulations and Standards 3
When a medication order is unclear or illegible, what should a medication technician do?