What should a Medication Aide check before giving medications to ensure accuracy?

Ensuring the accuracy of medication administration is crucial for patient safety. Checking the expiration date is paramount because administering expired medications can lead to ineffective treatment or harmful side effects. Medications that have surpassed their expiration date may have degraded in potency, and there is a risk that they could be harmful or not provide the intended therapeutic effect.

While other factors such as the manufacturer details, size of the pill, and packaging color can offer useful information about the medication, they do not directly impact the potency or safety of the medication as the expiration date does. It is essential for a Medication Aide to prioritize the expiration date to protect the health and well-being of the patient.