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Wrong-patient medication prevention — USMLE Step 3 MCQ

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HardEthics, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Systems-Based PracticeWrong-patient medication preventionUSMLE Step 3

A patient is nearly given another patient’s medication because two patients have similar names in adjacent rooms. Which prevention is best?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: C — Use two patient identifiers at medication administration

Two independent identifiers are a core medication-safety check and are not replaced by room number or name recognition. The other choices are unreliable or unsafe.

Reference: AHRQ, Patient Safety Primer: Medication Errors: https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/medication-errors