CPhT Medication Safety 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which organization maintains the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) error taxonomy?
- FDA
- USP
- NCC MERP itself (Correct answer)
- ISMP
Correct answer: NCC MERP itself
NCC MERP is an independent council that maintains its own medication error taxonomy and reporting standards.
Question 2: A patient receives methotrexate daily instead of weekly. This is an example of which type of medication error?
- Wrong drug error
- Wrong dose frequency error (Correct answer)
- Wrong patient error
- Omission error
Correct answer: Wrong dose frequency error
Administering methotrexate daily instead of the prescribed weekly schedule is a wrong dose frequency (schedule) error.
Question 3: Which labeling practice helps reduce look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug errors?
- Uppercase the brand name only
- Use tall man lettering for differing portions (Correct answer)
- Print all drug names in lowercase
- Bold the entire drug name
Correct answer: Use tall man lettering for differing portions
Tall man lettering highlights differing portions of similar drug names (e.g., hydrOXYzine vs. hydrALAzine) to reduce confusion.
Question 4: A pharmacy receives a verbal order for 'Celebrex 200 mg.' The technician mishears it as 'Celexa 20 mg.' What type of error is this?
- Transcription error
- Dispensing error
- Sound-alike drug error (Correct answer)
- Documentation error
Correct answer: Sound-alike drug error
Celebrex and Celexa are sound-alike drugs, making this a classic LASA (look-alike/sound-alike) error triggered by verbal communication.
Question 5: Under USP <795>, what is the beyond-use date (BUD) for a water-containing topical preparation compounded in a non-sterile environment?
- 14 days (Correct answer)
- 30 days
- 6 months
- 1 year
Correct answer: 14 days
USP <795> assigns a maximum 14-day BUD for water-containing topical preparations compounded non-sterile unless stability data supports otherwise.
Question 6: Which error-prevention strategy involves reading back a verbal prescription to confirm accuracy?
- Independent double-check
- Closed-loop communication (Correct answer)
- Fail-safe design
- Forcing function
Correct answer: Closed-loop communication
Closed-loop communication requires the receiver to repeat the order back so the sender can confirm correctness before acting.
Question 7: Which class of drugs is most commonly associated with high-alert medication errors in outpatient pharmacy settings?
- Antihypertensives
- Anticoagulants (Correct answer)
- Antihistamines
- Proton pump inhibitors
Correct answer: Anticoagulants
Anticoagulants such as warfarin are among the most common causes of serious medication errors and adverse drug events in outpatient settings.
CPhT Medication Safety 2
Which organization maintains the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) error taxonomy?