A resident’s PHI was left visible on an unlocked laptop on a medication cart parked outside the dining room, where the screen showed medications, DOB, allergy information, and code status to anyone passing by. Staff stated the screen should have been locked and the cart kept locked and free of visible personal information.
Failure to Protect Resident Privacy During Peri-Care: Two residents with cerebral infarction and moderately impaired cognition were left naked from the waist down during peri-care. Staff left blinds open for one resident and exited and re-entered the room while the other resident remained uncovered, exposing the resident to people in the hall. A nurse and an administrative nurse stated residents should be covered during care to protect privacy, and the facility policy stated residents have the right to a dignified existence.
A CMA left a locked med cart unattended with the laptop screen unlocked, allowing A resident's personal medical information and medications to be visible. The CMA said she was not sure whether the screen needed to be locked or hidden when away from the cart, and later interviews confirmed the cart and laptop screen should be locked whenever staff step away.
Staff failed to maintain privacy for two residents during in-room care. One resident with osteoarthritis and impaired cognition was left mostly naked while a CMA and an LN provided care, and another CMA left and re-entered the room without covering the resident; the room also lacked a privacy curtain. A second resident with dementia and severe cognitive impairment received peri-care with the window blinds open the entire time, and staff confirmed the blinds were not closed before care.
A resident with dementia, severe cognitive impairment, and total dependence for ADLs was resting in bed with her door open when another resident wandered into the room and began moving the blankets covering her. Staff, including an LPN and CNAs, reported that residents on the memory care unit were allowed to wander without boundaries, including entering other residents’ rooms. This practice conflicted with the facility’s policy requiring respect for resident dignity and privacy, resulting in a failure to protect the resident’s privacy while she was in bed.
Surveyors found that staff failed to protect resident PHI when two unattended medication carts were left in hallways with open computer screens displaying residents’ MAR and treatment orders. In each instance, the cart was left alone for several minutes with identifiable medical information visible, and the CMA and LN involved later acknowledged they should have closed the screens to maintain confidentiality, contrary to the facility’s stated residents’ rights policy.
Surveyors found that PHI was not kept confidential when two unattended medication carts in separate hallways were left with unlocked laptop screens displaying a resident’s medications, DOB, allergy information, and code status, visible to anyone passing by and without nursing staff in view. Nursing staff and an administrative nurse acknowledged that carts should be locked and laptop screens closed or cleared when unattended, and facility policy required safeguarding all resident records to protect confidentiality.
Surveyors observed a medication cart parked in a hall with a laptop left unlocked and unattended by a CMA, displaying a resident's PHI including medications, date of birth, allergies, and code status, visible to anyone passing by. Staff interviews confirmed that facility policy requires medication carts to be locked and laptop screens to be closed or hidden when out of staff’s line of sight, and that staff had been in-serviced on these confidentiality expectations.
A resident with urinary retention, UTI, BPH, and an indwelling suprapubic catheter was provided personal care with the room door left open. Two CNAs assisted with incontinence care, catheter care, linen changes, and transfer while the resident was soiled with bowel movement, and the Administrative Nurse stated the door should have been shut and the privacy curtain used in a shared room.
A facility failed to keep a resident’s PHI private when an unlocked laptop on a medication cart displayed medications, DOB, allergy information, and code status in a hallway. The facility also failed to provide privacy for another resident during peri-care when a CNA did not close the curtains, exposing the resident’s buttocks to an open window.
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