Failure to Properly Label and Store Medications in Medication Cart
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that only current medications with appropriate labeling were present in medication carts, as observed during a review of one out of three carts. A bottle of Guaifenesin liquid labeled for a specific resident was found with the words 'NOT OPEN' written on it, but the inner seal was punctured and some medication had been used, indicating it had been opened. There was no open date on the bottle, and the resident did not have an active order for this medication at the time of the review. The Director of Nursing confirmed that the resident should have had an order but did not currently have one. The facility's medication storage policy did not specify labeling practices, while the labeling policy required multidose vials to be labeled with the date opened or accessed.