Failure to Administer Medications as Ordered
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that medications were administered to a resident according to physician orders and facility policy. Medical record review and interviews confirmed that multiple medications were not given at the prescribed times over several days. Specifically, medications scheduled for administration at set times, such as 7:00 AM, 8:00 PM, and 11:00 PM, were instead given several hours late, with some doses administered the following day. The facility's policy requires medications to be given within one hour before or after the scheduled time unless otherwise specified by the physician, but this standard was not met for the resident in question. The deficiency was identified during a recertification and complaint survey, which included a review of the medication administration audit report and interviews with facility staff. Both the Unit Manager and the Director of Nursing confirmed the delays in medication administration for the resident during the specified period. The findings were based on direct evidence from the medication records and staff acknowledgment of the deviations from prescribed medication times.