Unlocked Med Cart and Expired Medications in Drug Room
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that medication security and storage practices did not follow facility policy or professional standards. During observation of the west hall, a medication cart assigned to a certified medication aide was found unlocked with the keys left in the lock, and no staff present near the cart. An administrative nurse then approached, locked the cart, and removed the keys while waiting for the medication aide to return. The administrative nurse later stated that medication carts should never be left unlocked or have keys left in them when staff are away, and the medication aide acknowledged she had stepped away briefly to assist another staff member and should have locked the cart and removed the keys. In a separate observation of the west medication storage room, surveyors found an opened vial of tuberculin without a date of opening and an expired bottle of latanoprost ophthalmic solution labeled for a specific resident, with an expiration date of 10/15/24. The administrative nurse reported that another administrative nurse was responsible for ensuring medications were returned to the pharmacy as needed and that no outdated medications remained in the medication room. The facility’s Storage of Medications policy documented that drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, that discontinued, outdated, or deteriorated drugs or biologicals are to be returned to the dispensing pharmacy or destroyed, and that unlocked medication carts are not to be left unattended.
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