Expired Lab Supplies Found in Medication Storage Room
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide pharmaceutical services that ensured the accurate acquiring, receiving, dispensing, and administering of all drugs and biologicals, as evidenced by the presence of expired lab testing supplies in one of two medication storage rooms. During an observation, multiple expired lab swabs and tubes were found in the medication storage room near the nurse's station, with expiration dates ranging from February 2023 to January 2025. The facility's policy required that all medication rooms be routinely inspected for discontinued or outdated medications and supplies, and that these items be destroyed. Interviews with staff, including an LVN, MA, DON, and the administrator, confirmed that the policy was to remove and dispose of expired medications and lab supplies, with responsibility for checking the medication rooms assigned to various nursing staff and managers. Despite these policies and assigned responsibilities, expired lab supplies remained in the medication storage room, indicating a failure to follow established procedures for the removal and destruction of outdated items.