Failure to Apply Physician-Ordered TED Hose for Edema
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a resident with diagnoses including osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus did not have their physician-ordered TED hose applied as required for the management of edema. Observations on two consecutive days revealed that the resident was fully dressed but not wearing the TED hose. The resident reported that staff had taken the hose to be washed the previous day and had not returned them, resulting in the resident being without the prescribed compression stockings. Review of the resident's clinical record confirmed a physician's order to apply TED hose to both lower extremities daily, with application in the morning and removal in the evening. The Treatment Administration Record (TAR) indicated that the TED hose were documented as applied on the mornings in question, despite the resident not having them. The care plan also specified the same application schedule. The DON confirmed that nursing staff were responsible for ensuring the TED hose were on as ordered. Facility policy defined failure to complete a medically related treatment as a medication/treatment error.