Failure to Ensure Interdisciplinary Team Approval for Self-Administration of Medications
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that the interdisciplinary team determined it was safe for a resident to self-administer medications, as required by facility policy. The policy stated that residents may only self-administer medications after the interdisciplinary team has determined which medications may be self-administered safely. In this case, a resident with multiple diagnoses, including hypertension and GERD, and who was legally blind, had a care plan and a self-administration evaluation indicating she did not want to self-administer medications while in the facility. Despite this, surveyors observed a bottle labeled antacids on the resident's bedside table containing both antacids and Tylenol. The resident stated she took the antacids and Tylenol whenever she needed them. The DON confirmed the medications at the bedside and acknowledged that the resident should not be self-administering medications, as documented in the assessment.