Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Practice Exam

What type of error occurs when the wrong strength of a medication is dispensed to a patient?

1. A near miss

2. A prescription error

3. Adulteration

4. Misbranding

The correct answer is: A prescription error

A prescription error occurs when the wrong strength of a medication is dispensed to a patient because it directly involves the incorrect interpretation or processing of a prescription. This can have serious implications for patient safety, as the effectiveness or safety of the medication could be compromised if the patient receives a dosage that is either too high or too low. Prescription errors generally stem from misunderstandings between the healthcare provider and the pharmacy, inadequate communication, or miscalculations in converting doses, among other factors. Recognizing and categorizing these errors accurately is essential for improving medication safety and ensuring that patients receive the correct therapeutic interventions. In this context, near misses refer to situations where an error could have occurred but was intercepted before reaching the patient, which does not apply here since the medication was dispensed incorrectly. Adulteration involves contamination or the inclusion of inferior substances in medication, while misbranding pertains to misleading labels or packaging of a drug. These definitions further clarify why the correct classification of the error in question is a prescription error, as it is specifically about dispensing the wrong strength rather than any of these other issues.