Medication Errors - Pharmacy

Medication Errors - Pharmacy
$12.00
2 Contact Hours
Required For: FL
323
About the course

Florida 2-Hour Medication Errors Course for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians

✓ Content Last Updated: September 10, 2026

Florida Board of Pharmacy Approved • Meets s. 456.013(7), F.S. • Pharmacists and Registered Pharmacy Technicians

FL Board of Pharmacy Provider #50-18921 • Reported to CE Broker • No Subscription Required
2
Contact Hours
Every
Renewal
100%
Online
2026
Updated

What's Included

Post-test Assessment

Required post-test covering medication error prevention, root-cause analysis, and Florida reporting law. A score of 70% or higher earns credit.

Self-Paced Online Course

Complete on-demand at your own pace, 24/7, from any device. Your progress saves as you go.

Quick Summary: Florida Pharmacy Medication Errors CE

  • Credit Hours: 2 contact hours (satisfies the Board-approved medication errors requirement for Florida pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians)
  • Who Must Complete: Every Florida-licensed pharmacist and registered pharmacy technician (RPT), every biennial renewal, including the first one
  • CE Broker Reporting: We report your completion to CE Broker for you, usually within 24 hours. This course does not report to NABP CPE Monitor.
  • Certificate: Available as soon as you pass the post-test and submit the course evaluation
  • Format: 100% online, self-paced, with a required post-test
  • Subscription: None. One-time purchase.

Registered pharmacy technicians: current Florida RPT licenses expire at midnight Eastern Time on December 31, 2026. The Department of Health checks your CE Broker record when you renew, so finish your medication errors hours before you start the renewal application. Pharmacist licenses in the current cycle expire September 30, 2027.

Understanding Florida's Medication Errors Requirement for Pharmacy

Florida law requires every health care board under the Department of Health to include a 2-hour course on preventing medical errors in each biennial renewal. For the Florida Board of Pharmacy, that course centers on medication errors, and it applies to both licensed pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians. The 2 hours count toward your total CE requirement. They are not added on top of it.

What Florida Law Requires

Three pieces of Florida law work together to set this requirement:

s. 456.013(7), F.S.: Prevention of Medical Errors Course

Each Florida health care board must require a 2-hour course on preventing medical errors as part of biennial renewal. The course counts toward the profession's total CE hours, must be approved by the board, and must include a study of root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety.

Rule 64B16-26.103, F.A.C.: Pharmacists

Florida pharmacists complete 30 hours of CE each biennium. Of those, 2 hours must be a Board-approved medication errors course and 2 hours must be a Board-approved controlled substances course. The remaining 26 are general hours.

Rule 64B16-26.103, F.A.C.: Registered Pharmacy Technicians

Florida RPTs complete 20 hours of CE each biennium. Of those, 2 hours must be a Board-approved medication errors course. The remaining 18 are general hours.

Board Approval Is Required

For both professions, the medication errors hours must come from a course approved by the Florida Board of Pharmacy. The Board also credits pharmacist and technician hours separately, so a course approved only for pharmacists will not count for a technician, and the reverse is also true. This course is approved for each license type, so your completion posts to CE Broker under the right profession.

Renewing for the First Time?

The medication errors course is still required on a first renewal, even if you were licensed less than 12 months before your renewal date. First-time renewals also require 1 hour of HIV/AIDS education for both pharmacists and RPTs, and pharmacists also need their 2 controlled substances hours.

Why This Requirement Matters

The World Health Organization identifies medication errors as a leading cause of avoidable harm in health systems worldwide, at an estimated cost of $42 billion a year. In pharmacy practice specifically, a 2025 systematic review of community and outpatient pharmacies found that wrong dose or strength and look-alike, sound-alike drug confusion were the most common dispensing errors, and that workload was the leading contributing factor. Pharmacists and technicians are often the last people to handle a prescription before it reaches the patient, which is why the Board requires this training for both.

What Counts as a Medication Error?

The FDA and the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention define a medication error as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer.

  • Where errors happen: Medication errors can occur at any step of the medication use process, including prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Dispensing is where a pharmacy team catches (or misses) wrong strengths, missing dosage forms, and look-alike names.
  • Errors versus reactions: An adverse drug reaction is a harmful, unintended response at a normal dose. An adverse drug event is any injury related to a drug. Not every adverse drug event comes from an error, but most preventable ones do.

Pharmacy teams are well placed to stop errors before they reach patients: verifying unclear prescriptions, separating look-alike products, flagging high-alert medications, reconciling medication lists at transitions of care, and counseling patients at pickup.

Key Concepts Covered in This Course

This course addresses each content area required by s. 456.013(7), F.S., with a pharmacy focus:

  • Root-cause analysis: Joint Commission sentinel events, the RCA process, and why system failures rather than individual carelessness drive most errors
  • Error reduction and prevention: barcode scanning, automated dispensing, tall man lettering, look-alike and sound-alike drug names, and high-alert medication safeguards
  • Patient safety: just culture, medication reconciliation, clear patient communication with teach-back, and special populations
  • Prescription clarity: trailing zeros, missing dosage forms, abbreviations, and when to call the prescriber
  • Florida reporting law: which adverse incidents must be reported to the Agency for Health Care Administration and the 15-day reporting window

Note: This course satisfies the medication errors requirement only. Florida pharmacists also need 2 hours of Board-approved controlled substances CE and 26 general hours (30 total). Registered pharmacy technicians also need 18 general hours (20 total). Check with the Florida Board of Pharmacy for complete renewal requirements.

100% Florida Board of Pharmacy Compliant

This course was built to satisfy the mandatory 2-hour medication errors requirement for Florida pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians in a single purchase.

How This Course Meets Florida Requirements:

1. Required Content: The course covers root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety, the three areas s. 456.013(7), F.S. requires in every approved medical errors course.

2. Board-Approved Provider: Renew Now CE is an approved provider of continuing education by the Florida Board of Pharmacy (Provider #50-18921).

3. Approved for Both License Types: The course is approved separately for pharmacists and for registered pharmacy technicians, so your hours are credited to the correct profession.

4. Automatic CE Broker Reporting: We report your completion to CE Broker, usually within 24 hours. You do not need to send your certificate to the Board. The Department of Health reviews your CE Broker record when you renew.

5. Two-Hour Format: Florida requires a 2-hour course. This course awards exactly 2 contact hours.

Florida Pharmacy Medication Errors Requirements at a Glance

Hours Required: 2 hours every biennial renewal
Who Must Complete: Florida pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians, including first renewal
Legal Authority: s. 456.013(7), F.S.; Rule 64B16-26.103, F.A.C.
Regulating Agency: Florida Board of Pharmacy, Florida Department of Health
Approval Required: Must be Florida Board of Pharmacy approved
Reporting: CE Broker (reported for you by Renew Now CE)
Current License Expiration: RPTs: December 31, 2026 • Pharmacists: September 30, 2027
Content Focus: Root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, patient safety

What's Included

Post-test Assessment

Required post-test on medication error prevention, root-cause analysis, and Florida reporting law. Pass with 70% or higher.

Self-Paced Course

Complete on-demand at your own pace, 24/7, from any device.

Certificate and CE Broker Reporting

Download your certificate right after you finish. We send your completion to CE Broker for you.

Learning Objectives

  • ✓ Define the common root-causes of medication errors.
  • ✓ Identify the most common medication errors, the impact of these errors, and strategies for reduction, prevention, and patient safety.
  • ✓ Identify patient safety regarding clarifying unclear prescriptions.

Course Content Overview

The course moves from definitions and root causes to prevention tools pharmacy teams use every day, then closes with reporting duties under Florida law:

  • Defining Medication Errors: FDA and NCC MERP definitions, adverse drug reactions versus adverse drug events, and current data on how often errors occur and what they cost
  • The Medication Use Process: prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring, plus what the evidence shows about e-prescribing
  • Case Studies: a tranexamic acid and bupivacaine vial mix-up in surgery, the Vanderbilt vecuronium case and its lessons for automated dispensing cabinets, and a fatal ten-fold penicillin G benzathine overdose in a newborn
  • Root Causes and Just Culture: communication breakdowns, staffing and workflow, weak policies, technical failures, and how to separate human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless behavior
  • Pharmacist Workload and Burnout: why workload is a system factor, not a personal failing
  • Barcode Scanning and Automation: barcode medication administration and automated unit dose dispensing, and what happens when scans are bypassed
  • Drug Name Confusion: FDA name review, look-alike and sound-alike pairs, shelf separation, and tall man lettering
  • High-Alert Medications: anticoagulants, insulins, opioids, neuromuscular blockers, concentrated electrolytes, and the safeguards they require
  • Medication Reconciliation and Transitions of Care: admission, transfer, and discharge discrepancies and how to prevent them
  • Labeling and Prescription Clarity: prescription and OTC Drug Facts labeling, DailyMed, trailing zeros, and missing dosage forms such as ER versus DR
  • Special Populations: older adults, polypharmacy, and deprescribing; weight-based pediatric dosing and independent double checks
  • Reporting Errors: MedWatch, ISMP, National Quality Forum serious reportable events, Joint Commission sentinel events, common barriers to reporting, and Florida adverse incident reporting under s. 395.0197, F.S.

Course Features

Mobile-Friendly Platform
Save Progress Feature
Automatic CE Broker Reporting
FL Board of Pharmacy Approved (#50-18921)
Reviewed by a PharmD
Self-Paced / On-Demand
Pharmacists and RPTs
4.7/5 Average Course Rating

Florida Board of Pharmacy Compliance Details

Legal Authority: s. 456.013(7), F.S. (prevention of medical errors course) and Rule 64B16-26.103, F.A.C. (continuing education credits and renewal for pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians).

Provider Approval: Renew Now CE is an approved provider of continuing education by the Florida Board of Pharmacy, Provider #50-18921.

CE Broker Course Numbers: Pharmacist: [20-XXXXXX] • Registered Pharmacy Technician: [20-XXXXXX]

Reporting: Completion is reported to CE Broker automatically. It may take up to 24 hours for the course to appear on your transcript. This course does not report to NABP CPE Monitor. If it has not posted after 24 hours, email [email protected] or contact us here.

Content Compliance: Course content includes root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety as specified in s. 456.013(7), F.S.

Requirements for Credit: Complete 100% of the course material, score 70% or higher on the post-test, and submit the course evaluation to receive your certificate.

Planners and Faculty: Joanna Nolte, APRN, MSN (content expert, author, nursing planner) and Ryan Bendinelli, PharmD (reviewer, pharmacy planner). Neither has a relationship with an ineligible company to disclose.

Course Details

Expiration

August 14, 2027

Complete Your Florida Medication Errors Requirement Today

Two Board-approved hours for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, reported to CE Broker for you.

FL Board of Pharmacy Approved     CE Broker Reported     Instant Certificate     Pharmacists and RPTs

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Legal References: Florida medication errors requirement established by s. 456.013(7), F.S. and Rule 64B16-26.103, F.A.C. Renewal requirements: Pharmacist Renewal and Registered Pharmacy Technician Renewal (Florida Board of Pharmacy). CE reporting: Florida Board of Pharmacy Continuing Education.

Need More Florida Pharmacy CE?

Pharmacists need 30 hours per renewal and registered pharmacy technicians need 20. Browse our full course catalog for additional Florida Board of Pharmacy approved courses.

Every course is reported to CE Broker for you, so your transcript stays current without extra steps.

$12.00
2 Contact Hours
Required For: FL
323
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