Failure to Arrange Required Outside Medical Appointments
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to arrange and assist residents in obtaining required outside professional services as ordered by their physicians. In one case, a resident with a history of perineal bleeding and suspected endometrial thickening had a physician's order to schedule a gynecology appointment, but there was no documentation that the appointment was ever scheduled or attended. The Director of Nursing confirmed the absence of any record regarding the gynecology appointment. Additionally, another resident admitted after an intracerebral hemorrhage was ordered to follow up at a neurology stroke clinic, but the appointment was not kept, and the facility staff canceled it despite family involvement. A third resident, admitted for rehabilitation following orthopedic surgery, was not scheduled for the required orthopedic follow-up prior to discharge, and there was no documentation of such an appointment in the discharge plan. These findings were confirmed through medical record review and staff interviews.