Failure to Properly Label and Remove Expired Medications
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that the facility failed to ensure proper labeling and storage of drugs and biologicals in accordance with professional standards and facility policy. Specifically, during an observation of Medication Cart 1, a Humalog insulin pen was found in use without an open date, expiration date, or use-by date. This was confirmed by an LPN, and the insulin pen was subsequently removed from storage. The facility's policy requires that multi-dose vials, including insulin, be dated and initialed upon first use and used within 28 days unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer. Additionally, during an observation of Medication Cart 2, a bottle of nasal allergy spray was found to be expired and still stored with medications currently in use. This expired medication was also confirmed by an LPN and removed from the cart. The facility's policy mandates that outdated medications be immediately removed from stock and disposed of according to procedures. These findings were noted in 2 of 8 medication carts reviewed.