Failure to Timely Report Misappropriation of Narcotic Medications
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report allegations of misappropriation of residents' narcotic pain medications to the Administrator in a timely manner for two residents. In the first instance, a Unit Manager discovered that two oxycodone tablets were missing from a resident's medication packet, despite the medication monitoring record indicating they should have been present. This finding was reported to the Director of Nursing (DON) on the same day, but there is no indication that it was reported to the Administrator as required. In the second instance, a nurse found an unknown white pill taped into a resident's oxycodone packet, replacing a missing oxycodone tablet. The nurse immediately reported this to the DON, but the DON did not inform the Administrator until several days later. Facility policy requires all allegations of misappropriation of resident property to be reported to the state health department immediately, but this protocol was not followed in these cases.