Medication Left Unattended Without Self-Administration Order
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that medications were not left unattended in resident rooms, as evidenced by an incident involving a resident with diagnoses of atrial fibrillation, malignant prostate cancer, and pneumonia. The resident, who had intact cognition and required moderate staff assistance with ADLs, did not have a physician's order to self-administer medications. During observation, an LPN placed an ampule of albuterol into the resident's nebulizer and informed the resident that the medication was available for use whenever he was ready, then left the room. Review of the facility's policy confirmed that self-administration of medications was only permitted with a physician's order and interdisciplinary team determination, which was not present in this case.