Free NHA Medication Dispensing and Compounding Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of an auxiliary label on a prescription vial?
- To provide the pharmacy's phone number
- To state the drug's manufacturer-assigned expiration date
- To provide additional warnings or instructions for the patient (Correct answer)
- To list the medication's NDC number
Correct answer: To provide additional warnings or instructions for the patient
Auxiliary labels supplement the main prescription label by providing important warnings or instructions to ensure safe and effective medication use. Examples include 'May cause drowsiness' or 'Take with food.'
Question 2: The first segment of a National Drug Code (NDC) number identifies the:
- Drug product and strength
- Package size and type
- Manufacturer or labeler (Correct answer)
- Drug's therapeutic class
Correct answer: Manufacturer or labeler
The NDC number is a unique 10 or 11-digit code divided into three segments. The first segment is the labeler code, assigned by the FDA to identify the manufacturer, repacker, or distributor of the drug.
Question 3: A pharmacy technician compounds a non-sterile aqueous oral suspension. What term is used for the date after which this preparation should not be used?
- Expiration Date
- Beyond-Use Date (BUD) (Correct answer)
- Manufacturing Date
- Dispensing Date
Correct answer: Beyond-Use Date (BUD)
A Beyond-Use Date (BUD) is assigned to compounded preparations and is determined by stability guidelines, such as those from USP. An expiration date is set by the manufacturer for a commercial drug product in its original, sealed container.
Question 4: The compounding process of grinding a tablet into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle is known as:
- Levigation
- Spatulation
- Geometric dilution
- Trituration (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Trituration
Trituration is the process of reducing the particle size of a substance by grinding it, which is commonly done with a mortar and pestle. Levigation is similar but involves adding a small amount of liquid to form a paste.
Question 5: When preparing a sterile intravenous (IV) solution, the most critical principle to follow to prevent contamination is:
- Geometric dilution
- Aseptic technique (Correct answer)
- Proper inventory rotation
- Tall man lettering
Correct answer: Aseptic technique
Aseptic technique is a set of procedures designed to prevent the contamination of sterile products by microorganisms. This is the most important principle in sterile compounding to ensure patient safety and prevent infections.
Question 6: A pharmacy stores hydrALAZINE and hydrOXYzine on separate shelves. This strategy is designed to prevent errors involving which type of medication?
- High-alert medications
- Look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drugs (Correct answer)
- Controlled substances
- Hazardous drugs
Correct answer: Look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drugs
Hydralazine and hydroxyzine are classic examples of look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) drugs that are frequently confused, leading to dispensing errors. Strategies like using tall man lettering, separating stock, and using alerts are crucial to prevent mix-ups.
Free NHA Medication Dispensing and Compounding Questions and Answers
What is the primary purpose of an auxiliary label on a prescription vial?