Preventing Medication Errors

Question 1

Examples of high-alert medications?

Answer 1

-Chemo drugs
-Oral hypoglycemics for diabetes
-Opioids for pain
-Anticoagulants used to thin the blood
-Injectable electrolytes
-Sedative agents

Question 2

What is a medication error?

Answer 2

Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. (Can occur during administration, compounding, dispensing, prescribing, product labeling, packaging, & systems within the pharmacy)

Question 3

What is a near miss?

Answer 3

An error that happened, but didn’t reach the patient.

Question 4

5 rights: for a prescription to be dispensed correctly, it must be the:

Answer 4

-right drug
-right dose
-right patient
-right time
-right instructions