A nurse must calculate the dosage of a medication labeled 100 mg/2 mL. If the prescription is for 50 mg, how many mL should be administered?

A. It provides a unique identifier that can be scanned to verify the right drug and dose: Barcodes on drug labels allow electronic verification against the patient’s medication order, ensuring the correct drug, dose, and route are administered, thereby reducing medication errors.

B. It lists the side effects of the medication: Side effects are typically included in package inserts or medication guides, not encoded in barcodes.

C. It ensures the medication is genuine and not counterfeit: While barcodes may help with inventory and traceability, their primary purpose is not to guarantee authenticity but to verify the correct medication and dose.

D. It indicates the expiration date of the medication: Expiration information is printed separately on the label and is not inherently conveyed by the barcode.

A. Draw up regular insulin first, then NPH insulin: Regular insulin is clear and must be drawn up before NPH to prevent contamination of the regular insulin vial with the cloudy NPH. This maintains accurate dosing and preserves the pharmacologic integrity of the short-acting insulin.

B. Draw up NPH insulin first, then regular insulin: Drawing up NPH first risks contaminating the regular insulin vial with NPH, which can alter absorption and onset. This can lead to unpredictable glucose control and medication error.

C. Mix both insulins in the vial before drawing up: Insulins should never be mixed in the vial because this changes their individual action profiles. Mixing in the syringe after proper draw-up technique is the safe and accepted method.

D. Use separate syringes for each insulin type: Separate syringes are unnecessary when mixing compatible insulins like regular and NPH. Using one syringe reduces injections while still allowing accurate dosing when drawn up correctly.