Failure to Complete Required Annual Self-Administration Medication Assessment
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a resident was properly assessed for the ability to self-administer medications as required by policy. Record review showed that a resident with legal blindness, absence of one eye, and peripheral vascular disease was cognitively intact and had severe vision impairment. The resident was self-administering several medications, including Calcium-Vitamin D, Ammonium Lactate lotion, and Omega-3, with physician orders allowing medications at bedside. However, the Medication Self-Administration Safety Screen assessment had not been updated since the initial assessment, and no annual reassessment had been completed as required. Interview with the President of Clinical Operations confirmed that the required annual reassessment was not performed. Policy review indicated that self-administration should only occur if the physician and interdisciplinary team determine the resident can do so safely, but this process was not followed for the resident in question.