Following several adverse events related to mislabeled laboratory specimens, a hospital implements a new policy requiring all lab tubes to be barcoded at the bedside immediately after collection and scanned by both the phlebotomist and a second witness before leaving the patient's room. This intervention is an example of which type of error prevention strategy?
✓ Correct Answer: Option A
Poka-yoke (error-proofing) involves designing processes or systems to prevent human errors from occurring or to immediately detect them. Barcoding and double-scanning create a physical constraint and a mandatory check, making mislabeling difficult and identifiable.