Failure to Provide and Administer Prescribed Medications as Ordered
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that prescribed medications were available and administered as ordered for a resident. The resident had physician orders for Benzonatate 100mg three times daily for five days and Guaifenesin-DM 100mg/10ml every six hours for two days. On the scheduled morning medication pass, the registered nurse was unable to locate the prescribed Benzonatate, stating it was a new order and needed to be called into the pharmacy. Additionally, the prescribed Guaifenesin-DM was not available in the medication cart, and only house stock Guaifenesin was dispensed, which did not match the physician's order. Further investigation revealed that the facility's central supply list, used to order house stock medications, did not include Guaifenesin-DM. During a medication cart inspection, a nurse admitted to considering administering Benzonatate from another resident's supply due to the unavailability of the ordered medication. Facility policy explicitly prohibits administering medications supplied for one resident to another. The failure to follow procedures for medication procurement and administration resulted in the resident not receiving prescribed medications as ordered.