Medication Safety & Quality Improvement

Question 1

Causes of compromised patient safety

Answer 1

Low patient literacy
Insufficient training, lack of experience or unfamiliarity with tasks
Breakdowns in communication (hesitancy to speak up or question authority/other, rushed communication)
Competing priorities in the face of stress, fatigue or burnout (running on “autopilot”)
Fast-paced, high-volume environment with time constraints (frequent interruptions, lapses in concentration)
Complex technology and processes (creation of “workarounds” to subvert complexity)

Question 2

Select National Patient Safety Goals

Answer 2

Identify patients correctly
Improve staff communication
Use medications safely
Use clinical alarms safely
Prevent infections

Question 3

Select high alert medications

Answer 3

Anesthetics inhaled or IV
Antiarrhythmics
Anticoagulants/antithrombotic
Chemotherapeutics
Epidural/intrathecal drugs
Hypertonic saline
Immunosuppressants
Inotropic
Insulins
Magnesium sulfate injection
Neuromuscular blocking agents
Opioids
Oral hypoglycemics
Parenteral nutrition
Potassium chloride and phosphates for injection
Sterile water for injection