Failure to Administer Medications Within Required Time Frame
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to follow prescriber's orders and accepted professional standards by administering medications outside the required time frame for two residents. One resident, admitted with diagnoses including a left humerus fracture, congestive heart failure, and depression, had a physician's order for Oxycodone 5 mg to be administered nightly at 9 PM. Medical records and audit reports showed that the medication was given late on multiple occasions, specifically being administered more than one hour after the prescribed time on several dates in January. Interviews with nursing staff confirmed that medications should be administered within one hour before or after the scheduled time, and administration outside this window is considered late. Another resident, with diagnoses including psoriatic arthritis and a pain management regimen of Oxycontin ER 20 mg every 12 hours, also received medications outside the required time frame. Audit reports indicated that the medication was administered late on numerous occasions, with delays ranging from over an hour to nearly three hours past the scheduled time. Facility policy requires medications to be administered within one hour of the prescribed time, and the observed practice did not comply with this standard.