Failure to Administer Oxygen Therapy per Physician Order
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide oxygen therapy according to physician orders for a resident receiving respiratory care. Facility policy required that oxygen be administered under a physician’s order except in an emergency. The resident was admitted with chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia and congestive heart failure, and the care plan documented that the resident used oxygen per physician order. A physician order dated 3/26/26 specified oxygen at 0–2 LPM via nasal cannula as needed to maintain oxygen saturation at or above 88%, with oxygen saturation checks every shift. The March and April 2026 MAR/TAR showed oxygen saturations ranging from 90–95% and documented that the resident was occasionally receiving 3 LPM of oxygen as needed. On 3/30/26 at 1:00 PM, the resident was observed in bed with the head of the bed elevated, the oxygen concentrator running and set at 2.5 LPM, but the resident was not wearing the nasal cannula and stated he used oxygen at night and when napping. On 4/3/26 at 9:26 AM, the resident was observed lying in bed with oxygen on via nasal cannula, and at 10:43 AM the same day, the DON observed the resident still in bed with oxygen via nasal cannula and identified the concentrator setting as 3 LPM. When the DON reviewed the record at 10:45 AM, she confirmed the physician order was for 0–2 LPM via nasal cannula and acknowledged that the concentrator should have been set between 0–2 LPM, indicating that the resident had been receiving oxygen at a flow rate above the ordered range.
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