Failure to Investigate Alleged Misappropriation of Medication
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to investigate an allegation of misappropriation involving a resident who was admitted with multiple medical conditions, including chronic pain, malnutrition, major depressive disorder, and moderate cognitive impairment. Upon admission, the resident's prescribed pain medication had not arrived, prompting her husband to bring in her Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen from home. The administrator instructed the nurse not to administer home medication, and the LPN claimed to have returned the medication to the husband. However, the husband reported that he never received the medication back. Despite conflicting accounts between the LPN and the resident's husband regarding the return of the medication, the facility did not initiate a Self-Reported Incident (SRI) or conduct an investigation into the missing medication. There was no documentation of the incident in the facility's Accident and Incident Log, nor was there an SRI filed for misappropriation. The facility's policy required prompt reporting and thorough investigation of all allegations of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation, but this protocol was not followed in this case.