Medication Error Prevention Flashcards
6 cards from real ISMP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Medication Error Prevention flashcards as text
According to ISMP, what is the most effective strategy for preventing medication errors at the system level?
Answer: Designing systems that make errors difficult to commit
ISMP advocates for system-level redesign that makes errors hard to commit, recognizing that most errors result from system failures rather than individual negligence.
ISMP's root cause analysis (RCA) approach to medication errors focuses on:
Answer: Finding underlying system and process failures
RCA examines the root causes of errors by identifying systemic and process failures rather than placing blame on individuals.
Which type of error reporting does ISMP encourage healthcare facilities to adopt?
Answer: Voluntary, non-punitive near-miss and error reporting
ISMP advocates for voluntary, non-punitive reporting systems so that near misses and errors are reported without fear, enabling learning and prevention.
Forcing functions in medication safety are design features that:
Answer: Make it impossible or very difficult to perform an unsafe action
Forcing functions are physical or system constraints that prevent errors from occurring, such as IV tubing that cannot be connected to an enteral port.
ISMP recommends that medication orders be written using metric units and avoid which abbreviation that commonly causes errors?
Answer: U for units
The abbreviation 'U' for units is on ISMP's error-prone abbreviations list because it can be misread as a zero, turning 4U into 40 units.
Which communication strategy does ISMP recommend to prevent transcription errors when receiving verbal medication orders?
Answer: Read back and verify the order with the prescriber
ISMP recommends a read-back process where the receiver repeats the verbal order to the prescriber for confirmation before acting on it.