Expired and Undated Medications Found in Medication Storage Areas
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure medications were properly stored, monitored for expiration, and labeled in accordance with professional standards. During an observation of the Over the Counter (OTC) Medication Storage room with a unit manager, surveyors found four boxes of bisacodyl 10 mg suppositories, each box containing 12 suppositories, with an expiration date of November 2025. The unit manager confirmed the expiration date and stated that the OTC room was checked frequently by central supply, and that nurses were expected to verify expiration dates before administering medications. The central supply staff member later reported that he stocked the OTC room weekly, checked for expiration dates, and had checked the room the prior week but did not identify the expired bisacodyl. In a separate medication storage room for another hall, surveyors found two bottles of Calcium 600 mg (60 tablets per bottle) with an expiration date of February 2026, which the unit manager confirmed. In the same medication room’s refrigerator, surveyors observed an opened, undated vial of Aplisol (tuberculin PPD, diluted) 5 TU/0.1 mL. The unit manager confirmed the vial was opened and undated and stated that unit managers were responsible for weekly checks of medication rooms and refrigerators for expired medications, and that a night shift nurse should also check the medication room each night. The DON stated that unit managers were responsible for checking expiration dates weekly in all medication rooms and the OTC room, that nursing staff were expected to check expiration dates before placing medications on carts or administering them, and that all vials should be dated when opened and were only good for 28 days per facility policy. The administrator similarly stated that medication storage rooms should be checked weekly for expiration dates and that opened vials should be dated when opened.
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