Failure to Ensure Required IDT Attendance at Care Plan Meetings
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that the minimum required interdisciplinary team (IDT) members attended care plan meetings for a resident who was admitted and later readmitted with multiple complex diagnoses, including hepatic encephalopathy, alcoholic cirrhosis with ascites, dependence on renal dialysis, and esophageal varices. According to facility policy, the IDT for care planning should include, at a minimum, the attending physician, a registered nurse, a nursing assistant, a member of food and nutrition services, the resident or their representative, and other appropriate staff. However, documentation for three separate care plan meetings showed that only the Social Services Director, the Dietary Manager, and the resident or their representative were present, with no nurse, physician, or other required disciplines in attendance. Interviews with the Director of Nursing and the Social Services Director confirmed that the full IDT was not present at these meetings. The Social Services Director stated that only she and the Dietary Manager attended the meetings, and that other required staff were not present due to being occupied with other duties. This failure to include the required disciplines in the care plan meetings was identified through facility documentation review, medical record review, and staff interviews.