Failure to Safely Store and Administer Medications
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to safely store and administer medications in accordance with professional standards and its own policies. One resident was found resting in bed with a pill cup of scheduled 10 AM medications left on the bedside table, including Plavix (for heart arrhythmia), Lasix and Metoprolol (for high blood pressure), Loratadine, a multivitamin, folic acid, Gabapentin (for lumbar radiculopathy), and Venlafaxine (for anxiety disorder). The administering RN acknowledged leaving the medications at the bedside and later stated he should not have done so because another resident could take them or the resident might take them at an off-schedule time. The DON stated that medications should never be left at the bedside and explained that medications must be taken by the intended resident at the scheduled time. Additional observations showed multiple residents with medications or treatment products stored unsecured in their rooms. One resident had an antifungal powder at his TV that he reported using as needed, but there was no corresponding physician order. Another resident recovering from a respiratory infection had a nasal spray and a bottle of antacid at the bedside; both items had physician orders, but they were not stored in locked medication areas. A third resident had an albuterol inhaler on the bedside table and reported using it when needed, with a physician order present. A fourth resident, who was moderately cognitively impaired per a recent MDS, had an unlabeled antifungal cream and Medi-honey on the bedside table, reported that the cream was not hers and that she used the Medi-honey on her hands, and had no physician orders for either product. The facility’s medication administration policy required that medication storage areas be locked when not in use and that all medications, including those brought in by residents or families, be properly labeled and stored in designated locked areas.
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