Failure to Date and Discard Medications as Required
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that medications and biologicals were properly dated upon opening and discarded by their expiration dates, as required by professional standards and facility policy. During observations and medical record reviews, multiple instances were identified where opened medications, including various eye drops and insulin, were not dated upon opening for several residents with diagnoses such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, COPD, and glaucoma. Additionally, expired medications, such as Refresh liquid gel eye drops and docusate sodium, were found in use or available for administration. Licensed Practical Nurses confirmed during interviews that these medications were either not dated or had expired and should have been discarded. The deficiency affected at least eight residents and had the potential to impact all 69 residents in the facility. The facility's own policy required staff to record the date when opening multi-dose containers and to check expiration dates before administering medications. Despite this, observations revealed that staff did not consistently follow these procedures, resulting in the presence of undated and expired medications in medication carts and storage areas.