Medication Safety PTCB Practice Test

  1. Which of the following numbers could lead to a medication error due to a decimal point error?
  1. 1.5
  2. 0.5
  3. 3.4
  4. 6.0
  1. Which of the following strategies can help decrease handwriting errors?
  1. Verbal orders
  2. CPOE
  3. Tall-man letters
  4. Bar code
  1. Which of the following abbreviations is on The Joint Commission’s (TJC’s) “Do Not Use” list?
  1. IU
  2. IV
  3. IM
  4. IO
  1. Which of the following abbreviations is on The Joint Commission’s “Do Not Use” list?
  1. qid
  2. bid
  3. qod
  4. tid
  1. What health care professional is ultimately responsible for all dispensed prescriptions?
  1. Physician
  2. Pharmacy technician
  3. Dispensing pharmacist
  4. Pharmacist manager
  1. What clinical information should be obtained on a pediatric patient to help prevent medication errors?
  1. Date of birth
  2. Weight
  3. Height
  4. All of the above
  1. A pregnant patient presents a prescription for Accutane to the pharmacy technician. What should the technician do?
  1. Alert the pharmacist that patient is pregnant and filling a category X medication
  2. Contact the physician to discuss the patient’s pregnancy status
  3. Return the patient’s prescription without filling
  4. Fill the prescription without notifying the pharmacist
  1. Which of the following are high-alert medications?
  1. Insulin, heparin
  2. Insulin, citalopram
  3. Heparin, citalopram
  4. Morphine, pantoprazole
  1. Which of the following should not be used during prescribing in order to minimize errors?
  1. mg
  2. Grain
  3. ml
  4. gm
  1. What can contribute to a medication error during a verbal order?
  1. Poor cell phone connection
  2. Accent
  3. Similar-sounding medications
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following strategies can be utilized during verbal orders to help minimize medication errors?
  1. Read back the order to the prescriber
  2. Guess at the prescriber’s order
  3. Multitask during verbal orders
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following patients are at the highest risk of a calculation error?
  1. A 7 week old
  2. A 14 year old
  3. A 28 year old
  4. A 56 year old
  1. Which of the following prevention strategies can be used to help prevent look-alike-sound-alike errors?
  1. Computerized physician order entry
  2. Tall-man lettering
  3. Shelf dividers
  4. Adequate lighting
  1. Which of the following organizations is devoted entirely to medication error prevention?
  1. Institute for Safe Medication Practices
  2. National Patient Safety Foundation
  3. The Joint Commission
  4. The American Heart Association
  1. The use of shelf dividers can help prevent which of the following type of error?
  1. Calculation error
  2. Decimal point error
  3. Look-alike packaging error
  4. High-alert medication error
  1. Which of the following is a high-alert medication?
  1. Insulin
  2. Heparin
  3. Morphine
  4. All of the above
  1. Why are high-alert medications more dangerous than other medication categories?
  1. Commonly prescribed
  2. Uncommonly prescribed
  3. High cost
  4. Devastating adverse effects
  1. Which of the following systems helps decrease medication error when stocking medications?
  1. Sorting medications by brand name A to Z
  2. Sorting medications by generic name A to Z
  3. Sorting medications by dosage form A to Z
  4. Sorting medications by fast movers
  1. Which of the following should be dispensed with a prescription for amoxicillin of 250mg/5ml – give 500 mg PO bid x 10 days?
  1. 2.5 ml syringe
  2. 5 ml dosing spoon
  3. 5 ml syringe
  4. 10 ml dosing spoon
  1. Which of the following pharmacy personnel can counsel a patient on how to use a medication device?
  1. Cashier
  2. Pharmacy technician
  3. Certified pharmacy technician
  4. Pharmacist
  1. Which of the following contributes to medication errors?
  1. Poor lighting
  2. Cluttered work space
  3. Loud noise
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following prevention strategies can be implemented to decrease medication error?
  1. Adequate lighting
  2. Dim lighting to save on electricity
  3. Spotlight each work area
  4. None of the above
  1. Which committee develops a formulary for an institution?
  1. BOP
  2. FDA
  3. P&T
  4. TJC
  1. Which of the following is the best method to reduce medication errors?
  1. Education of pharmacy staff
  2. Redesign systems and processes that lead to errors
  3. Correct individuals who make errors
  4. Overlook errors
  1. When should a pharmacy technician alert a pharmacist to make a clinical decision?
  1. Therapeutic interchange
  2. Drug utilization review
  3. Medication misuse
  4. All of the above
  1. The OBRA ’90 required pharmacies to do which of the following?
  1. Performa prospective drug utilization review on all prescriptions
  2. Provide drive-through service
  3. Therapeutically substitute brand to generic
  4. Protect private information
  1. Which of the following numbers could lead to a medication error due to a decimal point error?
  1. 1.00
  2. 1.01
  3. 0.11
  4. 0.01
  1. Which of the following is required during a prospective drug utilization review?
  1. Therapeutic duplication
  2. Drug-disease contraindications
  3. Incorrect drug dosage
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following committees manages the formulary system?
  1. Medical Executive Committee
  2. Nursing Council
  3. Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee
  4. Pharmacy Administration Board
  1. What of the following is an example of a generic substitution?
  1. Norvasc – Amlodipine
  2. Lopressor – Toprol Xl
  3. Protonix – Prevacid
  4. Prozac – Zoloft
  1. Which of the following is an example of the therapeutic substitution?
  1. Protonix – Prevacid
  2. Norvasc – Amlodipine
  3. Prozac – Fluoxetine
  4. Ventolin – Albuterol
  1. If a medication guide is required to be dispensed with a medication, when should it be given to the patient?
  1. First time only
  2. Refills only
  3. Every time dispensed
  4. Only if the patient is younger than 18 years
  1. Mr. Smith is asking for an OTC recommendation. Who may answer his question?
  1. Pharmacy technician
  2. Certified pharmacy technician
  3. Pharmacist
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following activities may be performed by a certified pharmacy technician?
  1. Patient counseling
  2. Generic substitution
  3. Prospective drug utilization review
  4. OTC medication recommendation
  1. Which of the following abbreviations is on TJC’s “Do Not Use” list?
  1. qd
  2. Daily
  3. bid
  4. Twice daily
  1. Which law requires pharmacies to perform a prospective drug utilization review on all prescriptions?
  1. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1936
  2. Durham – Humphrey Amendment
  3. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
  4. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
  1. What does the FDA refer to?
  1. Free Drug Assistance
  2. Food and Drug Association
  3. Food and Drug Abuse
  4. Food and Drug Administration
  1. Which of the following is not a task completed by pharmacy technicians?
  1. Refilling prescriptions
  2. Performing inventory
  3. Counseling patients
  4. Ordering medications
  1. Pharmacy technicians may perform all of the tasks except which of the following?
  1. Drug utilization review
  2. Inventory review
  3. Laminar flow hood cleaning
  4. Repackaging medications
  1. What should a certified pharmacy technician do when encountering an incorrect drug dosage during a prospective drug utilization review?
  1. Evaluate drug dose
  2. Contact the physician to change the dose
  3. Alert the pharmacist
  4. Return the prescription to the patient
  1. Who may recommend an OTC medication to a patient?
  1. Pharmacy technician
  2. Certified pharmacy technician
  3. Certified pharmacy technician with OTC training
  4. None of the above
  1. For which of the following reasons is tall-man-lettering being used on medications?
  1. Easier to read for patients
  2. Reduces errors from look-alike drugs
  3. Enlarged to fit the size of the prescription bottle
  4. None of the above
  1. Which of the following best defines a formulary?
  1. A set of rules for nurses on how to administer medications
  2. A list of mediations that are approved by the medical council
  3. A list of medications that approved by the P&T committee
  4. A set of rules for the department of pharmacy
  1. The requirement for pharmacists to counsel patients on a medication they have not taken before is listed under which law?
  1. Prescription Drug Marketing Act
  2. Kefauver-Harris Amendment
  3. OBRA ‘90
  4. Durham-Humphrey Amendment
  1. Which of the following prevention strategies should be utilized to decrease medication errors?
  1. Two-person independent check of medication calculation
  2. Tall-man lettering
  3. Shelf separators
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following strategies have been shown to decrease medication errors?
  1. Punitive strategies
  2. Staff education
  3. Redesign process
  4. All of the above
  1. Which of the following strategies can help prevent illegible handwriting errors?
  1. Verbal orders
  2. Telephone orders
  3. Computerized physician order entry
  4. Handwriting classes
  1. Which of the following medications is a high-alert medication and can cause significant patient harm?
  1. Acetaminophen
  2. Citalopram
  3. Warfarin
  4. Fluticasone
  1. Which of the following medications has a narrow therapeutic range?
  1. Fluticasone
  2. Acetaminophen
  3. Phenytoin
  4. Metoprolol
  1. Tall-man lettering can help prevent which of the following type of error?
  1. Calculation error
  2. Decimal point error
  3. Look-alike-sound-alike drug error
  4. High-alert medication error