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

Hydroxyzine and hydralazine are a well-known look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug pair that can be easily confused, leading to medication errors. The technician's primary responsibility in this scenario is to recognize the potential for error and bring it to the attention of the pharmacist for clinical resolution. The pharmacist can then take further steps, such as speaking with the patient and/or contacting the prescriber.

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

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) identifies insulin as a high-alert medication. While errors may not be more common with these drugs, the consequences of an error (e.g., severe hypoglycemia with an insulin overdose) are devastating. Amoxicillin, lisinopril, and ibuprofen are not typically classified as high-alert medications, although any medication can cause harm if used improperly.

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

Medication reconciliation is the process of comparing a patient's medication orders to all the medications they have been taking to avoid errors like omissions, duplications, dosing errors, or drug interactions. A pharmacy technician's role is crucial in gathering this accurate medication history to ensure patient safety during transitions of care.

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

Using the National Drug Code (NDC) is a precise method to verify that the medication being dispensed is the exact product (manufacturer, drug, and package size) specified in the prescription order. This is a key safety check to prevent wrong drug errors. While correct patient information is vital, and high-alert stickers are useful for specific drugs, the NDC check is a fundamental verification step for all prescriptions.

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

Clonazepam and clonidine are a classic example of a look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drug pair. Errors often occur because the names are phonetically and orthographically similar, leading to confusion during the prescription entry, selection, or verification process. The other options represent different types of medication errors.

ExCPT Practice Test Practice Test

ExCPT Practice Test Practice Test

ExCPT Medication Safety and Errors Questions and Answers