ExCPT Medication Safety and Errors Questions and Answers

Question 1

A patient presents a new prescription for hydroxyzine.
The pharmacy technician notices the patient's profile shows an active prescription for hydralazine.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action for the technician to take?

Accepted Answer

Alert the pharmacist to a potential look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug confusion.

Answer

Dispense the hydroxyzine as written without question.

Answer

Ask the patient what conditions they are being treated for.

Answer

Contact the prescriber directly to verify the prescription.

Question 2

Which of the following medications is considered a high-alert medication by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) due to its heightened risk of causing significant patient harm when used in error?

Accepted Answer

Insulin

Answer

Amoxicillin

Answer

Lisinopril

Answer

Ibuprofen

Question 3

A pharmacy technician is performing medication reconciliation for a newly admitted hospital patient. What is the primary purpose of this process?

Accepted Answer

To create a comprehensive and accurate list of the patient's current medications to avoid discrepancies.

Answer

To bill the patient's insurance for home medications.

Answer

To provide the patient with a new supply of all their home medications from the hospital pharmacy.

Answer

To determine which medications the hospital formulary will cover.

Question 4

To prevent a medication error involving the wrong drug being dispensed, which of the following is a critical step in the prescription filling process?

Accepted Answer

Verifying the prescription by matching the National Drug Code (NDC) on the stock bottle to the NDC in the pharmacy computer system.

Answer

Ensuring the patient's address and phone number are correct.

Answer

Placing a 'high-alert' sticker on every prescription vial.

Answer

Checking the wholesale acquisition cost of the medication.

Question 5

A patient complains that they received the wrong medication. Upon investigation, the pharmacy technician discovers that a prescription for clonazepam was accidentally filled with clonidine. Which of the following factors is the MOST likely cause of this type of error?

Accepted Answer

A look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug mix-up.

Answer

Incorrect dosage calculation.

Answer

Failure to check for drug allergies.

Answer

An expired medication was used.

Question 6

Which of the following is a strategy recommended by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) to reduce errors between look-alike drug names like hydrALAZINE and hydrOXYzine?

Accepted Answer

Implementing the use of 'Tall Man' lettering.

Answer

Using a black marker to cross out the brand name.

Answer

Storing the medications in different refrigerators.

Answer

Only allowing the pharmacist to dispense these medications.

A patient presents a new prescription for hydroxyzine.The pharmacy technician notices the patient's profile shows an active prescription for hydralazine.Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action for the technician to take?

A patient presents a new prescription for hydroxyzine.
The pharmacy technician notices the patient's profile shows an active prescription for hydralazine.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action for the technician to take?