Significant Medication Errors Involving Flexeril and Fentanyl Patch
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure a resident was free from significant medication errors related to both a scheduled muscle relaxant (Cyclobenzaprine/Flexeril) and a Fentanyl patch. During a medication pass observation, the nurse reported that the resident’s Flexeril was not available for the 1:00 PM dose and that it had also been unavailable for the 5:00 AM dose that same day. The nurse stated she had learned from the night shift that the last Flexeril dose was given the previous evening and that the pharmacy had reported it was too early to refill, with the next delivery not due until later in the month. The medication was not available in the emergency backup box, and the nurse did not notify the physician on call when the doses were missed. The resident had diagnoses including pain, anxiety disorder, hemiplegia and hemiparesis following cerebral infarction affecting the left non-dominant side, and depression, and had an opioid pain management care plan. The physician later confirmed that neither he nor his associates had been informed about the missed Flexeril doses and stated that missing a scheduled pain-relief medication without physician notification constituted a medication error. Pharmacy records showed that a 30‑day supply of Flexeril had been dispensed and should have lasted until a later date, indicating approximately nine days’ worth of doses (27 tablets) were unaccounted for. The DON acknowledged that the Flexeril was unavailable, that two doses were missed on the day of the survey, and that no provider had been notified when the medication first ran out. A second medication error was identified when a Fentanyl patch was observed on the resident’s chest, dated several weeks earlier, despite there being no current physician order for the patch. The resident requested its removal, stating it had been in place for weeks. Upon review, the DON confirmed that the Fentanyl patch order had been discontinued several weeks prior, yet the patch remained on the resident’s body and had not been removed at the time of discontinuation. The consultant pharmacist confirmed there was no active order for the Fentanyl patch and that it should have been discontinued, and also explained that Flexeril was not stocked in the backup box because the facility had not requested it and that early refills required facility authorization. Facility policies reviewed required that medications be administered as prescribed and that procedures be in place for when medications are delayed or unavailable, but these were not followed in this case, resulting in the identified medication errors.
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