GPhC Medicines Optimisation 3

Question 1

Medicines reconciliation is best defined as:

Accepted Answer

Comparing a patient's current medication orders to all medications the patient has actually been taking, to identify and resolve discrepancies

Answer

Medicines reconciliation involves formally comparing medication orders with what the patient has been taking to identify and resolve discrepancies such as omissions, duplications, or dose errors.

Question 2

At which transition of care is medicines reconciliation most critical for preventing medication errors?

Accepted Answer

On admission to or discharge from hospital

Answer

Medicines reconciliation is most important at hospital admission and discharge, where care transitions create the highest risk of medication omissions, unintended changes, and prescribing errors.

Question 3

Deprescribing is best described as:

Accepted Answer

The planned and supervised process of reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be beneficial or may be causing harm

Answer

Deprescribing is a structured, patient-centred clinical process of dose reduction or discontinuation of medicines when the harms outweigh the benefits or treatment is no longer aligned with patient goals.

Question 4

The NO TEARS tool is used to structure medication reviews. What does the letter 'T' represent in this mnemonic?

Accepted Answer

Tests and monitoring

Answer

In the NO TEARS medication review tool, T stands for 'Tests and monitoring', prompting the reviewer to check whether appropriate safety monitoring is in place for the patient's current medicines.

Question 5

A 78-year-old patient is taking a long-term NSAID for joint pain alongside a PPI for gastric protection. Which medicines optimisation approach is most appropriate during their review?

Accepted Answer

Consider whether the NSAID is still necessary given the patient's age and risk profile, and explore safer alternatives

Answer

In an older patient, the continued need for an NSAID should be critically reviewed given increasing risks of GI bleeding, renal impairment, and cardiovascular events with age — adding medicines to manage NSAID side effects is not the preferred approach.

GPhC Registration Practice Test

GPhC Registration Practice Test

GPhC Medicines Optimisation 3