Successful completion of “Patient safety/reducing medication errors” (lesson 401-000-08-006-H05) is worth two contact hours of credit. Mail completed answer sheet to DrSN/Pharmacy Practice, P.O. Box 31180, Tampa, FL 33631-3180. For faster service, fax to (813) 626-7203. For fastest service, visit our Web site at www.cedrugstorenews.com.

1. Which of the following Institute of Medicine publications focused on making broad changes to the healthcare system to improve care to patients? a. To Err is Human b. Crossing the Quality Chasm c. Preventing Medication Errors d. Patient Safety

2. How many errors are estimated to occur in outpatient settings in the United States? a. 800,000 b. 600,000 c. 530,000 d. 450,000

3. An adverse effect produced by the use of a medication in the recommended manner is defined as a: a. Adverse drug reaction b. Near miss c. Adverse event d. Medication error

4. Which phase of the medication-use process involves choosing the correct medication, appropriate preparation of the prescription and patient counseling? a. Monitoring b. Transcribing c. Dispensing d. Drug administration

5. According to the NCC MERP Index for Categorizing Medication Errors, an error that resulted in permanent patient harm is: a. Category D b. Category E c. Category F d. Category G

6. A potential adverse drug event is category _________, according to the NCC MERP Index for Categorizing Medication Errors. a. A b. B c. C d. D

7. Which of the following factors may increase the risk of a medication error? a. Use of symbols on a prescription b. Prescribing a sound-alike drug c. Work interruptions d. All of the above

8. Individual blame and reprimanding will help to reduce and prevent the incidence of medication errors. a. True b. False

9. A structured process for retrospectively analyzing the cause of an error is known as a. Root cause analysis b. Failure mode and effect analysis

10. Which factor could be a cause of error in a written prescription?

a. Use of block lettering for the drug
name
b. Inclusion of the indication for the
drug
c. Use of a terminal zero in the drug
strength

11. Use of e-prescribing by practitioners would entirely eliminate the chance for a medication error to occur. a. True b. False

12. What changes can manufacturers make to reduce the incidence of medication errors?

a. Place large company logos on the
immediate drug container
b. Use of same color container pack-
aging for same drug products
with different strengths
c. Use of “TALL MAN” lettering to
differentiate between similar
drug names

13. Who has the responsibility of reporting medication errors? a. Pharmacists b. Patients c. Practitioners d. All of the above

14. Which of the following should a patient do in order to prevent a medication error?

a. Assume the physician has all
your information
b. Make sure you can read the pre-
scription written by the physician
c. Leave the pharmacy without veri-
fying the bottle in the bag
d. Fill your medications at multiple
pharmacies

15. Which is true regarding medication error reporting?

a. Errors reported to the USP-ISMP
are not sent to the FDA
b. Errors reported through NCC
MERP can be reported to USP or
FDA
c. The FDA Med Watch program is
the only error reporting system
d. The Med-ERRS system works
with prescribers to prevent errors

16. A patient brings to your attention that their prescription was filled with the wrong drug. This error was caught prior to the patient administering the wrong drug. What questions should be asked when performing root cause analysis of this incident? a. Who is to blame? b. How did the incident happen? c. Who was involved? d. Both B and C

17. Which class of medication is considered high-alert medications? a. Oral hypoglycemics b. NSAIDs c. Antidepressants d. PPIs

18. Only errors that cause patient harm should be reported to such healthcare agencies as the FDA, USP or ISMP. a. True b. False

19. A compliance error is defined as a situation in which a patient is prescribed and given the correct medication but takes it incorrectly. a. True b. False

20. What actions can a pharmacist take to reduce and prevent medication errors?

a. Assign blame to a staff member
who was involved with the inci-
dent
b. Check the prescription at drop-off
and at the final check
c. Examine environment and work-
load issues that could be a source
of error
d. Do not accept any verbal orders
from a physician