Which inventory principle ensures medications are used before they expire?

• A. First-expire-first-out.
• B. Last-in-first-out.
• C. Random selection.
• D. Inventory count only.

Answer: (A)

The principle being tested is using medications in the order of their expiration dates, so items that will expire soonest are used first. This approach, known as first-expire-first-out, directly reduces waste and helps ensure potency and safety by preventing drugs from sitting on shelves until they expire. In practice, pharmacies rotate stock so the earliest-expiring items are placed in front and checked during receipt and dispensing.

Why this works better than the other ideas: last-in-first-out prioritizes newer stock, which can leave older stock to expire and be wasted; random selection ignores dates altogether and can mix items with different expiration timelines; counting inventory alone doesn’t address how quickly items must be used, so expiration risk remains.