Failure to Complete Timely Physician Regulatory Visits
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that physician visits for residents were conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements. Specifically, physician visits did not occur every 30 days for the first 90 days after admission and at least once every 60 days thereafter for 12 out of 25 residents reviewed. Medical record reviews revealed that several residents had not received timely in-person regulatory visits by a physician, with some only being seen by nurse practitioners or physician assistants, and others not having any regulatory visit documented within the required timeframes. Interviews with the facility's Medical Director and physician confirmed that regulatory visits were significantly behind schedule. The physician acknowledged being aware of the backlog and stated that acute care needs and crisis management had taken precedence over routine regulatory visits. The physician also clarified that acute care visits were not counted as regulatory visits, as regulatory visits are more comprehensive and must be specifically documented as such. The facility's policy requires that the medical care of each resident be supervised by a licensed physician, including conducting routine required visits in accordance with OBRA regulations. Despite this, multiple residents did not receive their initial or subsequent regulatory visits within the mandated periods. Both the Medical Director and the physician confirmed awareness of the deficiency and the lack of a tracking system for regulatory visits at the time of the survey.