Failure to Arrange Transportation for Outside Medical Appointment
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when the facility failed to assist a resident in arranging transportation to an outside medical appointment, despite being given adequate notice. The resident, an adult male admitted for rehabilitation with diagnoses including infection of an internal joint prosthesis, COPD, and cardiac implants, had a scheduled follow-up appointment documented by an APRN. The appointment information was provided to the facility by the resident's responsible party both in writing and verbally, with reminders given the day before the appointment. Despite these notifications, transportation was not arranged for the resident. Interviews with facility staff revealed that the document containing the appointment details was uploaded and filed, but the information was not communicated to the social worker (SW), who was responsible for scheduling transportation. Multiple staff members, including the MDS nurse, ADON, and medical records staff, indicated that there was an expectation for nurses or CNAs to relay such information to the SW, but this did not occur. The SW confirmed she had not seen the appointment document and was not informed in time to arrange transportation, which required at least one to two days' notice. The facility did not have a documented in-service or policy regarding transportation procedures, and staff interviews indicated a lack of clarity and communication regarding responsibilities for arranging transportation. The resident missed the scheduled appointment as a result, although the appointment was later rescheduled. The admission agreement reviewed indicated that transportation responsibilities varied depending on the resident's payer source, but the process for ensuring timely arrangements was not followed in this instance.