What type of medication error occurs when a patient receives a drug intended for another patient?

What type of medication error occurs when a patient receives a drug intended for another patient?

• A. Omission Error
• B. Extra Dose Error
• C. Unauthorized Drug Error
• D. Wrong Dose Error

Answer: (C)

This item tests medication administration safety, focusing on what happens when a patient ends up receiving a drug that was meant for someone else. That situation is an unauthorized drug error—the drug given is not authorized for this patient, often because of a mix-up in patient identity or labeling. It isn’t simply missing a dose, giving too much, or giving the wrong amount; it’s about the drug itself being the wrong one for this patient. Think about why this matters: giving a medication that isn’t prescribed for the patient can cause unexpected and potentially serious harm. Prevention centers on strict identity verification and medication checks—confirm the patient’s identity with two identifiers, verify the drug name and dose against the order, use barcode scanning if available, properly label and separate medications, and have a second clinician double-check when appropriate. In contrast, omitting a dose means no drug is given at all, an extra dose is an additional amount given beyond the prescription, and a wrong dose is an incorrect amount of the correct drug. Here the issue is the drug itself being inappropriate for the patient.

This item tests medication administration safety, focusing on what happens when a patient ends up receiving a drug that was meant for someone else. That situation is an unauthorized drug error—the drug given is not authorized for this patient, often because of a mix-up in patient identity or labeling. It isn’t simply missing a dose, giving too much, or giving the wrong amount; it’s about the drug itself being the wrong one for this patient.

Think about why this matters: giving a medication that isn’t prescribed for the patient can cause unexpected and potentially serious harm. Prevention centers on strict identity verification and medication checks—confirm the patient’s identity with two identifiers, verify the drug name and dose against the order, use barcode scanning if available, properly label and separate medications, and have a second clinician double-check when appropriate.

In contrast, omitting a dose means no drug is given at all, an extra dose is an additional amount given beyond the prescription, and a wrong dose is an incorrect amount of the correct drug. Here the issue is the drug itself being inappropriate for the patient.