Failure to Timely Respond to Resident Record Requests
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to respond in a timely manner to requests for a resident's records, specifically for a resident with severe cognitive impairment and diagnoses including non-Alzheimer's dementia, anxiety disorder, and depression. The resident's family, including individuals designated as Power of Attorney (POA) and Health Care Surrogates (HCS), made multiple attempts to obtain a copy of the admission contract, which they did not possess and did not recall signing. Despite repeated requests via email to the Business Office Manager (BOM), there was no documented response or provision of the requested records. The BOM acknowledged forwarding the request to the wrong staff members and did not provide a rationale for failing to respond to the family's emails. Interviews with facility staff revealed inconsistent awareness and handling of the records request. The Medical Records Clerk described a process for handling such requests but had no documentation of receiving or processing the family's requests. The Administrator stated there were no requests from the family and cited restrictions on releasing records to individuals not designated as POA or HCS, despite evidence that the requests came from appropriately designated family members. Email records confirmed multiple follow-up attempts by the family, with no timely or appropriate response from the facility.