Failure to Protect Resident PHI on Unattended Medication Carts
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a failure to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of residents’ personal and medical records when unattended medication carts were left with open computer screens displaying protected health information (PHI). On 03/16/26 at 8:53 AM, a medication cart in the 600 hallway was observed unattended for four minutes with the electronic medication administration record for Resident 10 visible on the screen. Later that morning at 11:37 AM, another medication cart in the 500 hallway was observed unattended for over three minutes with treatment orders for Resident 96 displayed on the computer screen. The certified medication aide responsible for the first cart acknowledged he should have closed the computer screen so that Resident 10’s information could not be seen, and the licensed nurse responsible for the second cart similarly acknowledged she should have closed the screen to maintain confidentiality of residents’ medical information. On 03/17/26 at 1:38 PM, an administrative nurse stated the expectation that all resident information on computers should be protected by closing the computer screen when the cart is unattended. The facility’s undated Residents’ Rights policy documented that residents have the right to privacy and confidentiality for their personal and clinical records, and that confidentiality of personal and clinical records is a resident right.
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