What should you never do with medication before checking its expiration date?

The correct response highlights the critical importance of ensuring medication safety and efficacy. Before dispensing medication, it is essential to check its expiration date, as using medication that has expired can lead to reduced effectiveness or potential harm to the patient. Expired medications may not only fail to provide the intended therapeutic effect but could also pose risks due to the breakdown of active ingredients or the formation of harmful byproducts.

Dispensing medication without verifying the expiration date undermines patient safety and can violate standard protocols established within healthcare practices. It’s vital to maintain a responsibility for the quality and safety of the medications provided to ensure that patients receive reliable and effective treatment.

Storing, documenting, or calculating the dose of medication does involve important steps; however, these actions can occur without an imminent risk to patient safety if the expiry date is not checked at that moment. The focus should always be on ensuring that the medication being dispensed is safe and appropriate for patient use.