Which scenario represents a system-level safeguard to prevent medication errors?

• A. Two nurses check insulin dose
• B. Recording height, weight, and allergies before meds
• C. All meds checked by two nurses before administration
• D. Potassium chloride is not available in concentrated form

Answer: (D)

System-level safeguards change the environment or processes to prevent errors from happening, not just rely on people to catch them. Removing concentrated potassium chloride from stock is a prime example because it eliminates a high-risk option at the source. By not providing concentrated KCl, the system prevents a potential administration error regardless of individual vigilance, dosing calculations, or double-checks.

The other scenarios rely on staff to perform checks or gather information, which are important but depend on human action and can fail under fatigue or time pressure. They don’t alter the process itself in the way that restricting concentrated forms does.