Unattended Medications Left at Bedside Without Authorization
Penalty
Summary
A licensed nurse left a cup containing two medication pills unattended on the bedside table of a resident who had diagnoses including hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and dementia. The resident was unable to identify the pills or state how long they had been there. The nurse confirmed that the medications were heart medications that had been withheld due to the resident's low heart rate and blood pressure, and admitted to accidentally leaving the medication cup at the bedside. The nurse acknowledged that this action created a risk for the resident, as well as the possibility that another resident could have ingested the medications. Review of the resident's medical record and care plan showed there was no authorization for self-administration or bedside storage of medications. Facility policy requires a written order for bedside medication storage and specifies that missed medications should be returned to secured storage. The Director of Nursing confirmed awareness of the incident and agreed that leaving medications unattended at the bedside was unsafe and could have resulted in another resident accessing the medications.