Improper Medication Labeling, Dating, and Security on Medication and Treatment Carts
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure medications and biologicals were properly labeled, dated, and securely stored in accordance with its own “Medication Storage In The Facility” policy. The policy required all medications to be stored in pharmacy-labeled containers, for outdated or deteriorated medications to be immediately removed and destroyed, and for certain products such as ophthalmic solutions and blood sugar testing supplies to be assigned shortened expiration dates once opened. During observation of the Yellowstone Hall medication cart, surveyors found a bottle of eye drops with an illegible label and an open date of 12/20/25, another bottle of eye drops with an illegible label and an open date of 2/20/26, and a bottle of glucose test strips with no open date. The LPN present stated that eye drops and glucometer strips were considered good for only 30 days after opening, acknowledged the eye drops should have been wasted, and that the undated strips should have been discarded. The CNO later stated that eye drop bottles should be dated with the open date and that he would need to check pharmacy policy for the exact duration of use. Additional observations showed failures in securing medication and treatment supplies. A treatment cart was observed unlocked in a hallway outside a resident room, and an LPN confirmed that the cart contained medicated creams and should have been locked. On a separate medication storage observation of the Mesa Falls Hall medication cart, surveyors again found an undated bottle of glucose test strips. The RN present acknowledged that the strips should have been dated when opened and was unsure how long they remained usable after opening. These findings demonstrated that medications and treatment supplies on multiple carts were not consistently dated, labeled legibly, or kept locked and inaccessible as required by facility policy.
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