Failure to Ensure Timely Routine Physician Visits
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a long-term resident received routine physician visits every 60 days as required. The resident, who was cognitively intact and had diagnoses including atrial fibrillation, major depressive disorder, morbid obesity, and lymphedema, did not consistently receive timely evaluations by a medical provider. Review of the medical record showed gaps in the timing of provider visits. During interviews, an LPN responsible for scheduling these visits could not explain the missed evaluations and stated that she maintained a handwritten schedule, which was discarded after each provider visit. The DON confirmed that staff were expected to track and ensure timely physician evaluations, and that this lapse should have been reported to administration. Facility policy required physician visits at least every 60 days after the first 90 days of admission, with a 10-day grace period, but this was not consistently followed for the resident in question.