Improper Storage and Security of Medications and Controlled Substance Prescriptions
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to properly store and secure medications on the First Floor Nursing Unit, as observed during a medication pass. Several unsecured and unidentified medication tablets, including a brown oblong tablet, a pink colored oblong tablet, and a white colored oblong tablet, were found loose in the bottom of the medication cart drawers. Additionally, a container of individually wrapped supplemental vitamin chews in the cart contained a pink colored oblong medication tablet and a yellow colored oblong medication tablet. The LPN using the cart was unable to identify the unsecured medications. On the Second Floor Nursing Unit, two loose prescriptions for Oxycodone, a controlled substance, were found in a resident's clinical record. The prescriptions were not defaced and were easily removable from the record, which was stored behind the nurse's station with other resident records. The nurse's station was secured only by a slide-over lock that did not require a key or code, making it easily accessible to all staff. These findings were confirmed through observation and staff interviews.