Failure to Properly Label and Store Medications
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to ensure that medications and biologicals were properly labeled and securely stored according to professional standards and facility policy. Observations of multiple medication carts revealed loose, unidentified pills of various shapes and colors, with no indication of which residents they belonged to. Additionally, several inhalers prescribed to specific residents were found opened without the required date of opening, contrary to manufacturer instructions and facility policy. These deficiencies were confirmed through staff interviews and review of the facility's medication storage policy, which mandates that medications with shortened expiration dates be dated upon opening and that all medications be stored in their original containers. The issues were identified across several medication carts, affecting medications for multiple residents. The lack of proper labeling and storage was verified by LPNs during the survey, and the facility's own census and policy reviews corroborated the findings. Manufacturer instructions for the inhalers in question specify that they should be discarded six weeks after opening, but the absence of opening dates made it impossible to determine compliance. The facility's policy also requires that medications be stored in their original containers, a standard not met in these instances.