One of the most nerve-wracking tasks during a survey is being the staff person responsible for doing the medication pass and having your every move observed by an AHCA surveyor. This intense pressure can lead to simple mistakes that can cause your staff to not follow the Medication and Infection Control regulations.
Simple mistakes can happen, and can even include infractions like not properly washing or sanitizing your hands BEFORE DISPENSING MEDICATIONS TO EACH RESIDENT
This means that your medication staff MUST wash or sanitize their hands between every resident even if gloves are worn.
It’s a good idea to review and observe your facilities med pass often. Whether you have a small facility and you do the med pass yourself, or you have staff doing it, take the time to review the procedures, observe, ensure it is being done properly.
The best way to avoid the handwashing deficiency above is to place a bottle of hand sanitizer on your medication cart so it’s right there in front of staff and is easily accessible.
Take a few minutes every week and observe your facilities med pass and make sure this simple task is being done by your staff and avoid this deficiency.