Under which circumstances is sample testing of incoming medicines recommended?

• A. If policy dictates or if there is suspicion of quality issues.
• B. For every shipment regardless of evidence.
• C. Never; always rely on supplier documentation.
• D. Only after the item has been dispensed to a patient.

Answer: (A)

Testing incoming medicines is a quality control step meant to verify that what arrives meets defined standards before it enters stock or patients’ hands. The best practice is to perform sample testing when policy requires it or when there is any suspicion of quality problems—such as concerns about a supplier’s reliability, packaging integrity, temperature exposure, or discrepancies in documentation. This independent check helps catch substandard, falsified, or mislabelled products early, safeguarding patient safety and inventory quality.

Testing every shipment, while thorough, is often not practical or necessary, so many systems use a risk‑based approach guided by policy. Relying only on supplier documentation isn’t sufficient because documentation can be incomplete or misleading, and testing provides direct verification. Waiting to test until after dispensing to a patient defeats the purpose of quality assurance and can put patients at risk and complicate recalls.