Expired Medications Found in Medication Cart
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to ensure all drugs and biologicals were stored in accordance with accepted professional principles on one of three medication carts reviewed. Specifically, expired medications were found in the 300 Hall medication storage cart, including four tablets of Ondansetron 8mg that had expired for 322 days and five tablets of Clonidine 0.1mg that had expired for 414 days. These expired medications were not removed from use and remained accessible in the medication cart. The LVN responsible for the cart confirmed the presence of the expired medications and stated she had not administered them, noting she was new to the facility and had received training on medication storage and checking for expired medications. The Director of Nursing (DON) stated that expired medications should not be present in medication rooms or carts and that nurses are responsible for checking and removing expired medications. The DON acknowledged that the expired medications had been overlooked, possibly due to them not being administered for months. Review of the facility's pharmacy monthly medication review records from July to September did not indicate any expired medications needing removal, and the facility's policy requires staff to remove expired medications from active stock. No evidence was found that the expired medications had been administered to residents.