F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
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Significant Medication Error Due to Misinterpretation of Orders

Kannapolis Health And RehabilitationKannapolis, North Carolina Survey Completed on 01-16-2025

Summary

The facility failed to prevent a significant medication error involving a resident who was prescribed hydrocortisone for adrenal insufficiency. The resident missed a dose, received the wrong dose for two days, and then the medication was abruptly stopped. This error occurred because the Unit Manager misinterpreted the hospital discharge orders and transcribed them incorrectly, believing the medication was to be given for only three days. The Unit Manager did not seek clarification from the hospital, the endocrinologist, or other medical professionals, and the error went unnoticed by other staff members who reviewed the orders. The resident, who had a history of adrenal insufficiency, diabetes, malnutrition, and other health issues, went 18 days without receiving hydrocortisone. This led to a significant drop in cortisol levels, resulting in weakness and low blood pressure. The resident was eventually transferred to the hospital at the family's request, where she was admitted for these symptoms. Despite the endocrinologist's intervention to correct the medication error, the resident's condition worsened, leading to a surgical procedure and subsequent complications. Interviews with various staff members, including the Unit Managers, Nurse Practitioners, and the Physician, revealed a lack of communication and verification of the medication orders. The pharmacist's review did not identify any irregularities, and the physician did not review the transcribed orders in the electronic documentation system. The failure to administer hydrocortisone as prescribed was identified as a significant medication error, contributing to the resident's deteriorating health condition.

Removal Plan

  • The facility recognizes that all newly admitted and readmitted residents have the potential to be affected from the prior noncompliance with significant medication errors. All newly admitted and readmitted residents' medication orders were audited by the Director of Nursing and or Unit Managers to ensure orders were transcribed correctly. 30 residents were audited with no discrepancies noted.
  • A quality review was completed by the Director of Nursing and or Unit Manager of current residents with a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency and with hydrocortisone orders to ensure medication is ordered, transcribed correctly, and being given as ordered, no discrepancies noted.
  • A quality review of current residents admitted and readmitted within the past 30 days was conducted by the Director of Nursing and Unit Manager to ensure all other newly admitted or readmitted patients' medications are administered per physician orders and transcribed correctly on the Medication Admission Record (MAR).
  • A Root Cause Analysis was completed by the Director of Clinical Services, and the Executive Director regarding omission of medication administration for resident #137. It was determined through root cause and analysis that the significant medication error was due to the oversight of transcribing the orders incorrectly and there was no verification conducted by a second nurse.
  • The Director of Nursing and/or the nurse managers provided education to current nurses on the importance of transcribing all new orders from discharge summaries, verified by 2 nurses to ensure medications are transcribed and administered per physician orders to the residents. Newly hired nurses will be educated on hire during the orientation process.
  • The Executive Director provides oversight for the education of nurses to ensure that 100% of all licensed staff were reeducated on the importance of administrating all ordered medications. Education was completed.
  • The Director of Nursing and or Nurse Managers will conduct Quality Improvement Monitoring 5 times per week for 4 weeks, 1 time per week for 3 months and 1 time monthly for 3 months in clinical morning meeting to review the medication administration records of all new residents when admitted or readmitted to ensure all medications are transcribed correctly and medications are administered as ordered per physician.
  • Upon receiving hospital discharge summaries medication orders are verified with the provider, 2 nurse verification system; 1 Nurse transcribes all orders, then 1 Nurse verifies/confirms that orders were transcribed correctly. They also review the previous days admissions during the morning meeting and verify during the meeting.
  • When the deficient practice of transcribing orders that resulted in a significant medication error was identified the center Executive Director conducted an ADHOC Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) meeting to determine the root cause analysis of the deficient practice.
  • The QAPI committee put a plan of action in place to include quality improvement monitoring and the frequency of monitoring to ensure medication administration orders were transcribed correctly and medications were administered as ordered.
  • The results of the quality monitoring will be brought to the Quality Assurance Performance Improvement meeting monthly to ensure ongoing compliance for 4 months. Quality Improvement schedule will be modified based on findings of the monitoring.

Penalty

Fine: $17,345
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The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

Resources

Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:

See other F0760 citations
Significant Medication Error and Systemic Failures in Resident Identification
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F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

A significant medication error occurred when an agency RN, unfamiliar with residents and lacking clear identification procedures, administered morphine sulfate and levothyroxine ordered for one severely cognitively impaired resident to that resident’s cognitively impaired roommate, after calling out the wrong name and failing to verify identity via the electronic health record photo or another reliable method. The resident who received the wrong medications developed profound bradycardia and hypotension, was transferred to the ED with accidental opioid poisoning, and required naloxone to stabilize vital signs before returning to the facility. Surveyors also found that multiple residents lacked identification photos in the EHR despite facility policy, and staff reported relying on familiarity, resident self-identification, or room nameplates instead of a consistent, reliable process, creating a systemic breakdown in resident identification during medication administration.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Medications Left Unattended at Bedside and Not Administered as Prescribed
D
F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

A cognitively intact resident with end stage renal disease, GI hemorrhage, and anemia had ordered medications including Velphoro, sucralfate, and midodrine, but surveyors observed four medication cups containing these drugs left unattended on the bedside table while the assigned medication aide was at the cart and unable to see the resident. The aide confirmed the medications belonged to the resident, stated they must have been left from a prior shift, and acknowledged she had not yet given that morning’s doses and that staff are expected to observe residents swallowing medications. A nurse from the previous shift also denied intentionally leaving medications at the bedside but agreed this practice was inappropriate. The resident reported that nurses often left medications at the bedside without always informing him he was expected to take them. The physician stated that failure to receive these medications as ordered had the potential for significant adverse effects, and both the unit manager and DON stated that medications were not to be left at the bedside and that residents must be assessed before any self-administration is allowed.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Properly Administer Ordered Crushed Medication
D
F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

A resident with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression had physician orders for 40 mg of Ingreeza daily for drug-induced subacute dyskinesia and for all medications to be crushed, consistent with the care plan directing pills to be finely crushed. During a medication pass, an LPN prepared the Ingreeza capsule softened in pudding and administered it without opening the capsule and sprinkling the contents, thereby not crushing the medication as ordered. In interviews, the LPN and facility leadership confirmed that the medication was not administered according to the physician order and that this constituted a significant medication error.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Significant Medication Error From Misidentification During Med Pass
G
F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

A resident with CHF and paroxysmal AFib was mistakenly given a roommate’s medications when an LPN entered a shared room, called out the roommate’s name, and administered the prepared medications to the other bed after that resident responded. The facility’s policy required licensed staff to verify resident identity using identifiers such as ID bands, photos, or staff confirmation, but this verification was not performed. As a result, the resident received multiple unintended drugs, including aspirin, Xcopri, Aptiom, levetiracetam, lorazepam, morphine, acetaminophen, carbidopa-levodopa, and gabapentin. The resident initially appeared stable but then developed lethargy and hypotension, leading to Narcan administration, EMS activation, and hospital transfer, where records confirmed accidental ingestion of the roommate’s medications with resultant lethargy and hypotension.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Ensure Timely and Complete Medication Administration for Two Residents
D
F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

Two residents experienced repeated medication errors when nurses failed to administer multiple ordered medications within the facility’s required time window and, in some cases, did not administer them at all. One resident with diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and respiratory issues repeatedly received late doses of Gabapentin, Advair, and Albuterol, and reported severe leg pain when Gabapentin was delayed. Another resident with COPD, heart failure, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis did not receive a scheduled lidocaine pain patch and had missing doses of Jardiance and Gabapentin during a late morning med pass, while still receiving other oral medications and an inhaler. Nursing staff and the DON acknowledged that medications are expected to be given within one hour before or after the ordered time and that late or omitted doses are not in accordance with physician orders, despite a facility policy requiring safe, timely administration and adherence to the five rights of medication administration.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Transcribe and Administer Ordered Antibiotics and Wrong IV Medication Administration
G
F0760 F760: Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Short Summary

A resident with a history of lumbar discitis/osteomyelitis and chronic myeloid leukemia had IV daptomycin discontinued after imaging showed improvement, and an ID physician faxed new orders for PO levofloxacin and PO vancomycin. Although the fax was confirmed as received and scanned, nursing did not transcribe these antibiotics into the EMR or MAR, and they were not administered for approximately two months, even as the resident reported to the ID physician via telehealth that she was tolerating levofloxacin, believing she was taking it. The oral antibiotic orders did not appear in the physician order listing until after the resident was hospitalized again for fever and pain, when imaging showed recurrent discitis/osteomyelitis and the hospital continued or resumed levofloxacin and PO vancomycin. In a separate incident, an LPN administered another resident’s IV ertapenem instead of the ordered IV daptomycin to this resident after taking the wrong medication from the refrigerator, contrary to facility policies requiring medications to be administered according to physician orders and pending orders to be checked and confirmed after physician visits.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

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