Failure to Assess and Authorize Resident Self-Administration of Eye Medications
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to follow its policy for assessing and authorizing resident self-administration of medications. The facility’s Self-Administration of Medication policy, revised 9/16/25, states that residents may self-administer medications when it is determined to be safe and appropriate, that the assessment will include whether bedside storage is appropriate, and that if self-administration is approved, a physician’s order will be obtained and the care plan updated. Resident #59, who had diagnoses including paraplegia and depression, was observed on 3/30/26 at 10:07 AM with one bottle of Artificial Tears eye drops and one bottle of Prednisolone Acetate eye drops sitting on the bedside table. At 10:22 AM the same day, an LPN stated that this resident should not have had the Artificial Tears and Prednisolone Acetate eye drops at the bedside. Review of the resident’s medical record at 1:27 PM showed an IDT self-administration assessment dated 3/17/26, in which the criterion "Can correctly administer eye drops or eye ointments according to proper procedure" was marked as "Not applicable." The medical record also contained physician orders for Prednisolone Acetate ophthalmic suspension 1% with a start date of 3/19/26 and Artificial Tears ophthalmic solution 0.2-0.2-1% with a start date of 3/20/26. On 3/31/26 at 5:17 PM, the CNO confirmed that the resident should not have had eye drops at the bedside and had not been approved by the IDT for self-administration of eye medications. The report states this failure created the potential for adverse effects if medications were self-administered inappropriately by the resident.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.