Failure to Date Opened Medication Vial in Storage Room
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that in one of two medication storage rooms reviewed, an opened vial of tuberculin solution was found in the refrigerator without a date indicating when it was opened. During interviews, both an LPN and the Director of Nurses confirmed that facility policy requires medications to be dated when opened, especially when the medication has a shortened expiration date after opening. The facility's Medication Storage and Expiration policy, provided by the DON, also specifies that staff should record the date opened on the primary medication container. The failure to date the opened tuberculin solution constituted a deficiency in proper medication labeling and storage practices as required by facility policy and professional standards.