Failure to Timely Remove Discontinued Narcotics from Medication Carts
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors found that the facility failed to promptly remove discontinued narcotic medications from two of three medication carts, as required by facility policy. During a review of the east medication cart with a registered nurse, a medication card for Alprazolam 0.25 mg prescribed to a resident was discovered in the narcotic locked box, despite the order having been discontinued several months prior and the last dose administered over two months ago. Similarly, on the middle medication cart, a medication card for Hydrocodone 5 mg-acetaminophen 325 mg for another resident was found in the narcotic locked box, with the order discontinued and the last dose given nearly a month earlier. The facility's policy mandates that controlled substances be disposed of immediately, and no later than three days after discontinuation, but these medications remained on the carts well beyond that timeframe.