Expired Medications 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 to meet the needs of each resident. During an observation of the medication storage room, surveyors found 15 hydrocortisone acetate 25mg suppositories with an expiration date of 05/2025 that belonged to a resident who had been discharged on 04/12/2025. These medications were still stored in the medication room refrigerator despite the resident's discharge and the medication order being for a 30-day period, which had already elapsed. The facility's policy required that discontinued or outdated drugs be returned to the pharmacy or destroyed, but this was not followed in this instance. Interviews with staff revealed that the ADON was responsible for checking the medication storage room for expired medications, with the DON overseeing this process. The ADON stated she last checked the room the previous week but could not recall the specific day. Both the LVN and ADON acknowledged that expired medications could place residents at risk for adverse reactions. The facility's policy, revised in April 2007, specified that nursing staff must maintain medication storage areas in a safe and sanitary manner and not use discontinued or outdated drugs, which was not adhered to in this case.