F0658

E

Multiple Failures in Medication Management, Order Implementation, and Behavior Monitoring

Mitchellville, Maryland Survey Completed on 01-14-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves multiple failures to meet professional standards of quality related to medication security, protection of resident health information, implementation of physician orders, behavior monitoring, and medication administration. During early morning rounds on the first floor, a medication cart on B-Wing was observed unlocked and unattended, and an unlocked laptop displaying resident-specific information was left at the doorway of a resident room. During a medication pass with an RN, the medication cart and computer screen were repeatedly left open, unlocked, and unattended in various rooms and in the first-floor lobby, with resident information visible. On a later date, another medication cart on the second floor B-Wing was also observed open and unattended. The RN and an LPN both acknowledged that facility expectations require medication carts and computer screens to remain locked when not in use.

Another deficiency involved failure to implement a physician order for a diagnostic test. A physician ordered a Complete Blood Count (CBC) for a resident with pneumonia to monitor the resident’s condition and guide treatment. A subsequent medical record review showed that this laboratory order was not carried out as written. The ADON explained that physicians enter lab orders, nurses transcribe them, and the 11:00 PM–7:00 AM shift is responsible for ensuring completion of lab tests unless the order is STAT. The ADON later confirmed that the CBC for this resident was not completed as ordered and stated that the reason for the failure was unknown.

Additional deficiencies were identified in behavior monitoring and documentation for residents with psychiatric or behavioral diagnoses and those receiving psychotropic medications. One resident with depression, anxiety, and insomnia had an order for behavior monitoring every shift, and the TAR showed multiple dates and shifts with documented behavior frequencies, including a high number of behaviors on one date; however, there were no corresponding progress notes describing the types of behaviors or interventions used. Facility staff stated that when behaviors are documented on the TAR, it is the process to write a progress note describing the behaviors and interventions, and to complete an SBAR and notify the provider if behaviors persist or are new. The DON confirmed that progress notes should be written when behaviors escalate and that the TAR only records the number of episodes, not the behavior details, and could not explain the absence of progress notes for the documented behavior episodes.

For another resident receiving Duloxetine, Escitalopram, and Olanzapine for depression and anxiety, review of the MAR showed that the medications were administered as ordered, but there was no documentation of behavior monitoring or effectiveness monitoring for the antipsychotic therapy. The ADON stated that effectiveness is to be monitored using behavior monitoring flow sheets and progress notes, but review of the record confirmed that no such documentation existed for this resident despite ongoing psychotropic use. A further resident with vascular dementia with psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance, and anxiety, and known behaviors such as yelling and screaming at others and a preference for personal space, had no documented behavioral assessment, no behavior monitoring tool in place, and no care plan interventions addressing these behaviors in the medical record.

A separate deficiency involved improper medication administration when a resident was found with a Lidocaine patch on the mid-back that had been dated the previous day. The wound nurse identified the patch as a Lidocaine patch, but review of the resident’s medication orders and medical record revealed no physician order for a Lidocaine patch and no documentation of its application. The unit manager confirmed that the resident had a Lidocaine patch without a corresponding physician order, and the DON confirmed that the resident should not have had the patch because a physician order is required and administration must be documented on the MAR. The facility’s Nursing Policies and Procedures: Medical Management Program require documentation of medications administered according to state and federal requirements, including correct physician orders and diagnoses for each medication, and specify that for transdermal patches the application site must be documented and sites rotated, which was not done in this case.