Before initiating IV therapy, which actions should you verify to ensure safety?

• A. Verify drug name and concentration and confirm patient identity.
• B. Verify drug name only.
• C. Confirm patient identity only.
• D. Check infusion site cleanliness only.

Answer: (C)

Verifying patient identity before starting IV therapy is the key safety step because it ensures you are treating the correct person. This prevents potentially dangerous wrong-patient administration, which would render any subsequent checks for drug name, dose, or site irrelevant if you’re not even applying the therapy to the right person. Once identity is confirmed, you would typically proceed to verify the medication name and concentration and check the IV site for cleanliness as part of comprehensive safety. However, without confirming who the patient is, the other safety checks cannot fully protect the patient from harm.