ISMP Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield ISMP facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Per ISMP guidance, which action best prevents wrong-patient medication errors during administration? → Using two independent patient identifiers before administration
2. Per ISMP high-alert medication principles, which of the following drugs appears on the ISMP list of high-alert medications in community/ambulatory settings? → Warfarin (anticoagulant)
3. A nurse is asked to administer a chemotherapy agent but has not completed oncology medication competency. Per ISMP, what is the correct action? → Decline to administer and notify the charge nurse to assign a competency-verified nurse
4. ISMP recommends that insulin be administered using only dedicated insulin syringes or insulin pens primarily to prevent which error? → Dose measurement errors caused by using tuberculin or other syringes
5. What is a recommended strategy for reducing errors with high-alert medications? → Require independent double-checks
6. The following procedures, EXCEPT for those listed below, can reduce prescription errors. → Using abbreviations
7. ISMP recommends that medications removed from automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) using the 'override' function should be: → Limited to true emergencies and reviewed retrospectively by pharmacy
8. One of the most frequent errors in IV medicine administration is: → Administering the drug too quickly
9. Which type of error reporting does ISMP encourage healthcare facilities to adopt? → Voluntary, non-punitive near-miss and error reporting
10. Which of the following is the correct ISMP-recommended way to express a morphine dose of half a milligram? → 0.5 mg
11. ISMP recommends that near-miss reports be used primarily to: → Identify and fix system vulnerabilities before an error reaches a patient
12. Which of the following best describes ISMP's 'forcing function' as a medication error prevention strategy? → A physical or system design constraint that makes it impossible to proceed with an error
13. ISMP recommends weight-based dosing for pediatric patients be calculated using which weight measurement? → Actual current body weight measured at admission
14. The 'five rights' of medication administration (right patient, drug, dose, route, time) are considered by ISMP to be: → Necessary but not sufficient without systems-based safeguards
15. ISMP recommends that LASA drug pairs stored in pharmacies be: → Stored in separate locations with auxiliary warning labels
16. ISMP recommends that healthcare facilities review LASA-related errors from their institution and from ISMP reports in order to: → Proactively strengthen safeguards before similar events occur internally
17. Smart infusion pumps with drug libraries contribute to medication error prevention by: → Alerting nurses when a programmed dose is outside safe limits
18. When a smart infusion pump's drug library is bypassed by a clinician using 'free-flow' programming, what key safety feature is defeated? → The hard and soft dose limits that prevent dangerous infusion rates are no longer enforced
19. Which principle underlies ISMP's recommendation to limit the number of drug concentrations available in a facility? → Standardization to reduce selection errors and simplify dosing calculations
20. According to ISMP, which practice is recommended to reduce the risk of errors when administering multiple IV medications through the same line? → Trace all lines from the patient back to their origin before connecting
21. According to ISMP, which strategy is MOST effective for preventing wrong-patient medication errors in hospitals? → Using at least two patient identifiers before administering any medication
22. ISMP defines 'look-alike/sound-alike' (LASA) drug pairs as medications that: → Have names or packaging that can be confused with one another
23. Which medication do you take in a mental health crisis? → Dantrolene
24. ISMP identifies which factor as a primary contributor to medication errors in high-stress healthcare environments? → Cognitive overload and interruptions during medication preparation and administration
25. Which organization publishes the list of high-alert medications used most widely in US healthcare settings? → ISMP
26. Which communication strategy does ISMP recommend to prevent transcription errors when receiving verbal medication orders? → Read back and verify the order with the prescriber
27. ISMP's MERP (Medication Error Reporting Program) reports errors to which partner organization for broader dissemination and prevention? → The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
28. According to ISMP, a key strategy for reducing LASA errors at the nursing unit level is to: → Include the drug indication on the medication administration record
29. ISMP recommends that over-the-counter (OTC) medications and herbal supplements be included in medication reconciliation because: → They can interact with prescription medications and cause adverse effects
30. Bar-code medication administration (BCMA) technology is primarily used to verify which of the five rights at the bedside? → Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, and right time