Failure to Timely Complete Ordered Laboratory Tests
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to follow provider orders for laboratory blood work for one resident who was admitted after a surgical amputation of toes and had diagnoses including diabetes and heart disease. The resident had an order for blood tests (CRP and ESR) to be drawn at the facility following a visit to an outpatient wound care center for treatment of a dehisced surgical foot wound. Although the physician's order for these labs was transcribed into the facility's records, the tests were not performed until 40 days after the order was written. According to the Director of Nursing Services, the delay occurred because the facility did not have a phlebotomist at the time and only two nurses were trained to draw blood, resulting in the resident's lab work being missed.