Topic primers
A quick on-ramp for each area: the handful of facts that anchor it. Read one, then go practice. These are a launchpad, not a lecture.
PRIMER · Patient Safety & Quality Assurance
Patient safety essentials
- High-alert means severe harm if used in error (insulin, heparin, opioids, concentrated electrolytes).
- Tall-man lettering distinguishes look-alikes (DOPamine vs DOBUTamine).
- Do Not Use: write 'unit' not 'U', no trailing zero (5 mg), always a leading zero (0.5 mg).
- MedWatch Form 3500 is voluntary; Form 3500A is mandatory.
- A near-miss is caught before harm; a sentinel event reaches the patient with serious harm.
PRIMER · Patient Safety & Quality Assurance
Sterile compounding and USP standards
- USP <795> covers nonsterile, <797> sterile, and <800> hazardous drug compounding.
- Garb dirtiest-to-cleanest; sterile gloves go on last, inside the clean area.
- A laminar airflow hood provides ISO Class 5 air; a HEPA filter removes at least 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles.
- Disinfect the direct compounding area with sterile 70% IPA at least every 30 minutes during compounding.
- A beyond-use date (BUD) applies to the compounded preparation, not the manufacturer's expiration date.
PRIMER · Patient Safety & Quality Assurance
Medication safety at a glance
- High-alert drugs (insulin, heparin, opioids, concentrated electrolytes) cause severe harm if misused; double-check them.
- Look-alike/sound-alike names use tall-man lettering to tell them apart (hydrALAZINE vs hydrOXYzine).
- Avoid error-prone abbreviations: U (write 'unit'), IU, QD/QOD, and MS; spell them out.
- Use a leading zero (0.5 mg) and no trailing zero (5 mg) to prevent 10-fold dosing errors.
- The rights of medication use: right patient, drug, dose, route, and time (plus documentation).
Showing Patient Safety & Quality Assurance only. See every primer.