Failure to Provide Timely and Appropriate Pain Management
Penalty
Summary
A resident with multiple serious diagnoses, including lung and brain cancer, chronic pain, and heart failure, was admitted to the facility and had physician orders for Tramadol and acetaminophen to manage pain. Despite these orders, there was a delay in obtaining the Tramadol, with the medication not being delivered to the facility until seven days after it was ordered. During this period, the resident consistently reported moderate to severe pain, with pain ratings ranging from four to six out of ten on several occasions. There was no documentation that alternative pain relief medications or methods were provided to the resident while experiencing pain during the delay in receiving the prescribed Tramadol. The resident reported being told by nursing staff that the facility was out of her pain medication and that efforts were being made to obtain it. The Director of Nursing confirmed the delay in medication delivery and the lack of documentation for alternative pain management interventions. Facility policy requires pain management to be based on professional standards, the care plan, and resident choices, but these standards were not met in this instance.