Medication Safety
Thermometer Event
Thursday 23rd
January 2014
Quiz About
Medication Errors
1. In their fourth report, how
much did the NPSA estimate is
spent on medication errors in
the NHS yearly?




A) £75 million
B) £750 million
C) £1.2 billion
D) £80 million
2. Which four High Risk drug
groups does the Medication
Safety Thermometer monitor?
 A)
Injectable sedatives, Insulin, Opiates,
Hypotensives
 B) Injectable sedatives, Insulin, Opiates,
Anticoagulants
 C) Respiratory, Insulin, NSAIDs,
Hypotensives
 D) Diuretics, Insulin, Anaesthetics,
Anticoagulants
3. What may a medication
error lead to…
 A)
An Adverse Drug Event
 B) Increased monitoring of a patient
 C) Extended length of hospitalisation
 D) All of the above
4. Name 4 stages in the
medication use process where
an error can occur..
E.g. Prescribing stage
1 point for each! 
5. In the Pincer trial (2012)which of the
following three options were the clinically
important errors the research team sought to
measure (Choose 3)
A) NSAIDS (e.g. ibuprofen)
prescribed without a PPI to
patients with a history of peptic
ulcers
D) β blockers (e.g. bisoprolol)
prescribed to those with a history
of Respiratory Disease
B) ACE inhibitors or loop diuretics
given to 75+ patients without a
U&E assessment in the preceding
15 months
E) β blockers (e.g. bisoprolol)
prescribed to those with a history
of asthma
C) ACE inhibitors or loop diuretics
given to 70+ patients without a
U&E assessment in the preceding
15months
F) NSAIDS (e.g. ibuprofen)
prescribed to those with a history
of Asthma
End of quiz
Answers to follow
Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
B
B
D
Possible Answers:
Prescribing,
Transcribing,
Dispensing,
Administration,
Monitoring or Checking
5.
A,B,E
References
Question…

1-National_Patient_Safety_Agency (2007). THE FOURTH REPORT
FROM THE PATIENT SAFETY OBSERVATORY, Safety in doses:
medication Safety incidents in the NHS. London, The National
Patient Safety Agency

2 &3 -Cousins, D. W., Steve; Jani, Yogini; Power, Maxine; Warren,
Abigail; Griffith; Michelle; Bramfitt, Kurt; Medications Safety
Thermometer-A preliminary pilot guide. NHS.

4-Hughes RG, Blegen MA. Medication Administration Safety. In:
Hughes RG, editor. Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based
Handbook for Nurses. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (US); 2008 Apr. Chapter 37. Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2656/

5-Avery, A. J., et al. (2012). "A pharmacist-led information
technology intervention for medication errors (PINCER): a
multicentre, cluster randomised, controlled trial and costeffectiveness analysis." The Lancet 379(9823): 1310-1319.