Failure to Obtain Informed Consent Prior to Psychotropic Medication Administration
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to obtain informed consent prior to administering psychotropic medications for two residents. For one resident, citalopram hydrobromide was ordered and administered before the resident's spouse signed the informed consent form, with the first dose given two days before consent was obtained. The same resident was later started on sertraline HCl, which was also administered before the spouse signed the consent form, with the first dose given two days prior to consent. Another resident received citalopram hydrobromide without any documented consent found in the electronic health record. This resident was also given haloperidol, with the consent form signed by the guardian two days after the medication order was received. Staff interviews revealed that the staff member responsible for obtaining consents could not explain why the consents were not completed prior to starting the medications. The facility's policy requires that residents or their representatives be informed of the risks and benefits of psychotropic medications before initiation, but this was not followed in these cases.