Failure to Administer Pain Medication as Ordered
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a resident's pain medication was administered as ordered and in a timely manner. A resident with diagnoses including dementia, Alzheimer's, hypertension, depression, anxiety, COPD, and adult failure to thrive was assessed as severely cognitively impaired and required scheduled pain medication for lower back pain. Physician's orders specified Acetaminophen-Codeine 300-30 mg to be given by mouth three times daily. However, the Medication Administration Record showed that the medication was administered late on multiple occasions, with doses given several hours after the scheduled times on two consecutive days. The resident's daughter reported that the pain medication was not received on time, and a nurse consultant confirmed that the medication should have been administered as scheduled.