Patient Safety & Quality Improvement USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 400-bed community hospital implements a computerized double-verification protocol for high-risk medications (insulin, anticoagulants, chemotherapy) requiring two independent nurses to verify dose, patient identity, and indication before administration. After 3 months of implementation, the pharmacy reports a 40% reduction in medication dosing errors compared to baseline. However, the nursing director notes increased staff complaints about workflow delays, with two nurses stating the protocol creates 'unnecessary bureaucracy.' Additionally, one medication administration time increased from 5 to 12 minutes on average. When evaluating whether to continue this protocol, which of the following represents the most important consideration?
Answer choices
- ADiscontinuing the protocol because staff satisfaction scores have declined by 15% on the most recent survey
- BDemonstrating sustained error reduction over a longer time period (6-12 months) using statistical process control methods before making a final decisionCorrect answer
- CImplementing the protocol hospital-wide immediately, despite implementation challenges in the ICU and OR
- DCalculating the cost-benefit ratio by dividing total protocol costs by the number of prevented errors
- EModifying the protocol to single verification by one experienced nurse to address staff workflow concerns
- FHiring additional nursing staff to eliminate time delays associated with the verification process
See the full explanation
Get the correct-answer rationale, why each distractor is wrong, the underlying mechanism, and high-yield associations — plus adaptive practice that targets your weak areas — with a free MedBoardPRO account.