Failure to Maintain Communication and Documentation for Dialysis Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain adequate communication and collaboration with the dialysis clinic regarding the care and services for multiple residents requiring dialysis. Specifically, the facility did not consistently complete or provide required information on the Dialysis Hand Off Communication Reports for several residents, including vital signs, weights, code status, mental status, vaccination status, allergies, diet and fluid restrictions, compliance with diet and fluids, new medications, medical problems, lab draws, and signs or symptoms of infection. Additionally, nurse signatures were frequently missing from both pre- and post-dialysis sections of the communication forms, and there was a lack of documentation regarding the condition of access sites and catheter dressings upon residents' return from dialysis. Several residents with complex medical histories, such as end stage renal disease, chronic respiratory failure, dependence on ventilators, and feeding tubes, were affected by these deficiencies. For example, one resident with severe cognitive impairment and multiple comorbidities had repeated omissions in the reporting of vital signs, infection status, and nurse signatures before and after dialysis sessions. Other residents, including those with moderate cognitive impairment or intact cognition, also experienced similar lapses in documentation and communication, with entire sections of the required forms left blank and no evidence of pre- or post-dialysis assessments being completed. Interviews with facility staff, including LPNs and the DON, confirmed that the expected process for completing and reviewing dialysis communication reports was not being followed. The facility's own policies and the dialysis coordination agreement required written communication of changes in resident condition and compliance with medical management, but these were not adhered to. Furthermore, care plans for residents receiving dialysis often lacked interventions related to monitoring for changes in mental status, infection, or fluid status, and there were no physician orders for pre- and post-dialysis assessments for the affected residents.