5 Medication Safety Reporting and Response Free Online FlashCards

What is a medication error?

A medication error is a preventable event that may cause harm or be intercepted before reaching the patient.

What is a near miss?

A near miss is an error or hazardous condition that did not reach the patient or cause harm.

What is the first priority after a medication error?

Protect the patient first: stop or contain the error, assess the patient, and arrange needed care.

What assessment is important after a high-alert medication error?

Promptly assess for effects specific to the medication and the dose or administration involved.

Should a near miss be reported if no harm occurred?

Report near misses and hazardous conditions through the organization’s event-reporting system, even when no harm occurred.

What should disclosure to a patient include?

Explain what is known, acknowledge the event, describe the patient’s condition and care plan, and explain how follow-up will occur.

How should uncertainty be handled when disclosing an event?

Be honest about what is uncertain; do not speculate or assign blame before the facts are established.

What key details belong in the clinical record after an error?

Record what happened and when, relevant medication details, the patient’s assessment and response, notifications, interventions, monitoring, and communication.

Does clinical documentation replace an internal safety report?

The clinical record supports continuity of care; it does not replace the separate internal safety report required by policy.

What makes an internal event report useful?

Describe the event sequence and relevant contributing conditions, such as a similar drug name, unclear order, interruption, or technology issue.

What does FDA MedWatch accept?

In the United States, FDA MedWatch accepts voluntary reports of medication and product-use errors, including some without patient harm.

What is a limitation of event-reporting systems?

Reporting systems do not capture every event and cannot, by themselves, establish how often errors occur.