PSA Medication Safety 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is medication reconciliation?
- Comparing a patient's current medications with newly prescribed ones to avoid errors (Correct answer)
- Only checking drug expiration dates
- Counting pills in a bottle
- Filing prescriptions alphabetically
Correct answer: Comparing a patient's current medications with newly prescribed ones to avoid errors
Medication reconciliation at every care transition identifies discrepancies that could cause harm.
Question 2: What is a 'never event' in medication safety?
- A preventable medication error that should never occur, such as wrong-route administration (Correct answer)
- A rare disease
- An incurable condition
- A medication allergy
Correct answer: A preventable medication error that should never occur, such as wrong-route administration
Never events are serious, preventable errors like administering IV medication orally.
Question 3: What is the purpose of a formulary?
- A list of approved medications an institution has selected for use based on efficacy, safety, and cost (Correct answer)
- A mathematical formula
- A patient questionnaire
- A drug manufacturing guide
Correct answer: A list of approved medications an institution has selected for use based on efficacy, safety, and cost
Formularies guide prescribing within an institution by listing preferred medications.
Question 4: What are the 'five rights' of medication administration?
- Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time (Correct answer)
- Right doctor, right nurse, right pharmacy, right hospital, right insurance
- Right color, right shape, right size, right label, right container
- Right morning, right afternoon, right evening, right night, right schedule
Correct answer: Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time
The five rights are a safety framework ensuring correct medication administration.
Question 5: What is a black box warning?
- The FDA's strongest warning placed on drug labeling indicating serious or life-threatening risks (Correct answer)
- A warning about package color
- An expired drug notice
- A storage temperature warning
Correct answer: The FDA's strongest warning placed on drug labeling indicating serious or life-threatening risks
Black box warnings highlight the most significant risks associated with a medication.
Question 6: What is pharmacovigilance?
- The science of detecting, assessing, and preventing adverse effects of pharmaceutical products (Correct answer)
- Pharmacy security
- Drug manufacturing quality
- Medication pricing analysis
Correct answer: The science of detecting, assessing, and preventing adverse effects of pharmaceutical products
Pharmacovigilance monitors drug safety after market approval through reporting and analysis.
PSA Medication Safety 1
What is medication reconciliation?