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Question
Two patients with the same last name and very similar first names ('Jon Smith' and 'John Smith') are both waiting for prescription pickup. A technician nearly hands the wrong bag to the wrong patient. What type of error does this scenario illustrate?
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Answer
A.A wrong-patient error, best prevented by verifying at least two patient identifiers (e.g., name and date of birth)
B.A wrong-route error
C.A wrong-drug error
D.A therapeutic duplication issue
This scenario is a classic wrong-patient error risk caused by name similarity; verifying two independent identifiers (such as full name plus date of birth) before handoff is the standard prevention strategy. It does not involve route, drug identity, or duplicate therapy issues.