Failure to Administer Prescribed Medication Due to Unavailable Stock
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a nurse failed to administer a prescribed dose of Famotidine (Pepcid) 10 mg to a resident with dementia and GERD, as ordered for indigestion. The medication was not found in the medication cart during the scheduled administration time, despite being present the previous day. The nurse searched both the medication cart and the medication room but was unable to locate the medication. She subsequently ordered the medication from the pharmacy and informed the resident that it would be delivered later, but the dose was missed for that day. Further review revealed that the medication was listed as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug, which contributed to it not being refilled in a timely manner. The following day, another nurse located an opened box of the medication in the medication cart and administered it as ordered. The facility's policy requires medications to be administered accurately and as ordered by the physician, but this process was not followed, resulting in the resident missing a scheduled dose.