Pharmacy Medication Safety and Error Prevention 3

Question 1

The Swiss Cheese Model of accident causation illustrates that errors occur when:

Accepted Answer

Multiple layers of defenses all have aligned holes, allowing harm to reach the patient

Answer

The Swiss Cheese Model (James Reason) shows that safety layers (checks, protocols, double-verification) all have weaknesses; errors cause harm only when flaws align simultaneously.

Question 2

Which strategy is most effective in preventing wrong-patient errors at the dispensing window?

Accepted Answer

Verifying two patient identifiers (e.g., name and date of birth)

Answer

Using two independent patient identifiers (name + date of birth, or name + address) before dispensing prevents mix-ups between patients with similar or identical names.

Question 3

A pharmacy receives a verbal order for 'morphine sulfate 10 mg IV.' The technician should:

Accepted Answer

Write it down and read it back to the prescriber for confirmation before preparing

Answer

The read-back process (write down → read back → confirm) is required for verbal and telephone orders involving high-alert medications to prevent transcription errors.

Question 4

Barcode medication administration (BCMA) technology in hospitals helps prevent errors by:

Accepted Answer

Verifying patient identity and correct drug/dose/time before administration

Answer

BCMA scans patient wristbands and medication barcodes before administration, electronically confirming the 5 Rights and alerting nurses to potential errors.

Question 5

Which error type is defined as administering a medication that was never ordered for the patient?

Accepted Answer

Unauthorized drug error

Answer

An unauthorized drug error (also called extra-dose or wrong-patient) occurs when a patient receives a drug that was not ordered by an authorized prescriber.

Pharmacy Practice Test

Pharmacy Practice Test

Pharmacy Medication Safety and Error Prevention 3