Failure to Complete Physician-Ordered Laboratory Tests
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that laboratory testing was completed as ordered by the physician for a resident with multiple complex medical conditions, including acute osteomyelitis, sepsis due to MRSA, diabetes, and an open wound. The resident had a critically low potassium level identified through laboratory testing, which prompted the physician to order immediate administration of potassium chloride and additional laboratory tests, specifically a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) and magnesium level. The orders were communicated by an RN to an LPN, who acknowledged understanding of the instructions. Despite these orders, only a basic metabolic panel (BMP) was completed, and the required CMP and magnesium tests were not performed. The failure was confirmed through closed record review and interviews, with the DON verifying that the orders for the additional blood work were not entered into the medical record. The LPN involved could not recall details about the potassium or the ordered blood work, and the RN confirmed that the orders were relayed but not executed. Facility policies required nurses to transcribe and execute physician orders or ensure a safe hand-off, and to contact laboratory services as needed, but these procedures were not followed in this instance.
Penalty
Resources
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The facility failed to ensure timely review and communication of critical and STAT PT/INR lab results for two residents on anticoagulation therapy. In one case, a resident’s critically high PT/INR result was available in the lab system and fax attempts failed, but nursing staff did not review the result until the next day and the MD was not notified when the result became available. In another case, a STAT PT/INR result was not phoned to the facility by the contracted lab, and nursing staff did not check the lab system and review the result until nearly a full day later. Leadership acknowledged that critical and STAT labs are expected to be called by the lab and that nurses are also expected to monitor the electronic lab system, but these processes did not occur as required.
A resident with overactive bladder and complaints of dysuria had an order for a one-time UA C&S, along with care plan interventions for labs per orders and monitoring for UTI. Staff did not attempt to obtain the urine specimen until five days after the order, when an LPN’s initial straight cath attempt was unsuccessful due to positioning and a subsequent attempt was refused by the resident, who requested a bedpan instead. There was no documentation of earlier collection attempts, no evidence that the provider was notified of the refusal, and no record that the ordered UA C&S was ever completed, despite facility policy requiring timely completion of ordered lab services.
Delayed laboratory testing for suspected UTI: An LPN documented unusual behaviors in a resident with Huntington's disease and severe cognitive impairment and contacted the CNP for UTI evaluation, but no urine collection or lab orders were placed in the record at that time. Urine was collected several days later, the specimen reached the lab after additional delay, and UA and culture results later showed E. coli; an RN later contacted the CNP about the results and antibiotic orders were entered.
A resident with multiple complex medical conditions did not receive ordered urine analysis with culture and sensitivity tests. The facility failed to collect the required laboratory samples and did not document the missed tests or notify the prescribing provider. The DON confirmed the omission and lack of documentation.
The facility did not ensure that physician-ordered laboratory tests were completed for two residents with complex medical conditions. Despite orders for multiple labs, only some were completed, and several were not obtained or on file, as confirmed by the DON. This failure was contrary to facility policy requiring staff to process and arrange for all ordered diagnostic testing.
A resident with multiple medical conditions, including cancer, did not have laboratory tests completed as ordered by their physician. Instead, incorrect labs were drawn on one occasion, and on another, one required test was missed, resulting in the resident missing a chemotherapy treatment. An LPN confirmed the errors in lab collection during interviews.
Failure to Timely Review and Communicate Critical and STAT Lab Results
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure timely reporting and review of STAT and critical laboratory results, as well as the absence of a lab policy. One resident with diagnoses including anemia, vesicointestinal fistula, spinal stenosis, congenital kyphosis, and COPD had orders for PT/INR testing twice weekly and warfarin dosing with instructions to contact the physician with PT/INR results. A PT/INR drawn showed a PT of 70.4 and a critically high INR of 7.0, but there was no documentation that the physician was notified of these elevated results on the day they were available. The Medical Director confirmed that the critical result was not called to her on the day of the test and that she only became aware of it the following day. The Unit Manager stated that critical labs are supposed to be called to the provider and that nurses are instructed to check the lab system, but acknowledged that although the results were available, she did not see them until the next morning. A RN also reported not being aware of the PT/INR result until several days later. For another resident with diagnoses including hypoosmolality and hyponatremia, morbid obesity, pulmonary embolism, and hypertension, physician orders included weekly PT/INR and a STAT PT/INR for elevated lab levels. A STAT PT/INR result showed a PT of 31.9 and an INR of 3.1, but there was no documentation that the lab called these STAT results to the facility. The DON and ADON stated that critical and STAT labs are usually called from the lab, but also confirmed that nurses are expected to check the lab system. They acknowledged that the lab did not call the STAT results and that the nurse did not review the lab tests until nearly 22 hours after they were available. The contracted lab’s representative reported that the critical PT/INR result for the first resident was released into the system in the evening, that nurses had access at that time, and that fax attempts failed twice. The lab contract specified that critical and STAT results would be phoned to the facility when available and that STAT testing would be reported within five hours, which did not occur in these instances.
Failure to Obtain Ordered UA C&S for Resident with Dysuria
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a urinalysis with culture and sensitivity (UA C&S) was obtained as ordered for a resident with risk factors for urinary tract infection (UTI). The resident was admitted with diagnoses including spinal stenosis and radiculopathy and had a care plan indicating risk for bladder incontinence, skin breakdown, and UTI due to overactive bladder, with goals to minimize risk of septicemia through prompt recognition and treatment of UTI symptoms. An order dated 10/17/25 directed that a UA C&S be obtained one time for dysuria. A subsequent care plan dated 10/20/25 documented that the resident was at risk for UTI due to complaints of dysuria, with interventions including encouraging fluids, obtaining labs per orders, and taking vitals as ordered or per facility protocol. Nursing documentation showed that on 10/22/25 at 10:00 A.M., an LPN attempted to obtain a urine specimen via straight catheterization but was unable to do so due to the resident’s positioning, and planned to attempt again after repositioning. At 10:30 A.M. the same day, after repositioning, the resident yelled that she did not want to be straight cathed and requested to use a bedpan for the sample, then refused. There was no evidence in the medical record of any attempts to collect the urine sample prior to 10/22/25, no documentation that the provider was notified of the resident’s refusal, and no evidence that the ordered urine test was ever obtained. The PA who ordered the UA C&S confirmed there were no results in the record and stated he would have expected the sample to be collected as quickly as possible. The DON confirmed that the order was given on 10/17/25 and that collection was not attempted until five days later, contrary to the facility’s laboratory services policy requiring labs to be completed and results provided within normal timeframes for appropriate intervention.
Plan Of Correction
1. Resident #8 had a urinalysis collected on 10/23/26 by Ohio Health Hospital and received treatment as ordered by the physician. 2. Like Residents are identified as residents who have received orders for a urinalysis. An audit will be completed by the Director of Nursing or designee for residents who have received an order for a urinalysis in the past 30 days utilizing the Laboratory Services Audit Tool which was created on 4/20/26 by the Director of Nursing for the purpose of this POC, to ensure residents had their urine obtained, physician was notified of results and physician orders were carried out as appropriate. This audit along with identified corrections will be completed on or before 5/13/26. 3. The Director of Nursing or designee will re-educate licensed nurses on the Laboratory Services Policy to ensure urinalysis tests are obtained and results are provided within timeframes normal for appropriate intervention. This education will be completed on or before 5/13/26. 4. Utilizing the Laboratory Services Audit Tool which was created on 4/20/26 by the Director of Nursing for the purpose of this POC, the Director of Nursing or designee will complete an audit of all urinalysis ordered within the last 7 days, weekly for four weeks beginning 5/14/26 to ensure residents had their urine obtained, physician was notified of results and physician orders were carried out as appropriate. Noncompliance noted during the audits will be corrected with urinalysis obtained, physician notified of results and physician orders were carried out as appropriate. Negative findings to be addressed immediately and negative trends or system wide issues will be reported to the
Delayed Laboratory Testing for Suspected UTI
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to execute timely laboratory orders for one resident with Huntington's disease, overactive bladder, spinal stenosis of the lumbar region, and severe cognitive impairment. On 12/19/25, an LPN documented unusual behaviors, including cleaning walls with tissue paper and attempting to put lotion on a sandwich, and contacted the CNP, who gave orders to check for a UTI. However, the medical record did not contain an order for urine collection, urinalysis, or culture and sensitivity/susceptibility testing at that time. Urine was not collected until 12/25/25, and the specimen was not received by the laboratory until 12/26/25. Urinalysis results were reported on 12/26/25, and urine culture and susceptibility results were reported on 12/29/25, showing Escherichia coli. A care conference note later described the resident as having a slight UTI and stated the doctor was aware. On 01/05/26, an RN contacted the CNP regarding the culture and susceptibility results, and later that day physician orders were entered for cephalexin 500 mg twice daily for seven days to treat the UTI. The LPN confirmed the urine sample collection was not timely, and the DON confirmed there were no orders in the medical record for the resident's urine collection, analysis, or culture and sensitivity.
Failure to Obtain Ordered Laboratory Tests
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to obtain laboratory tests as ordered for one resident. The medical record review showed that the resident, who had diagnoses including morbid obesity, lymphedema, chronic embolism and thrombosis, and hereditary deficiency of clotting factor, was admitted and later transferred to the hospital, where they expired. The resident's care plan included interventions such as laboratory tests as ordered, particularly urine analysis with culture and sensitivity to rule out urinary tract infections. However, there were two separate orders for urine analysis with culture and sensitivity that were not completed as required. Further review of the electronic medical record revealed no results for the ordered urine analyses, and there was no documentation indicating that the prescribing provider was notified about the missed tests. Additionally, the progress notes and the resident's medical record did not contain any information regarding the facility's failure to obtain the ordered laboratory tests. The DON confirmed during an interview that the laboratory tests were not collected as ordered and that there was no documentation of this failure in the medical record.
Failure to Complete Physician-Ordered Laboratory Tests
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that laboratory values were completed as ordered by the physician for two out of three residents reviewed. For one resident with multiple diagnoses including dementia, pressure ulcers, diabetes, and cerebral atherosclerosis, a wound care nurse practitioner ordered several labs (CBC, CMP, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, and hemoglobin A1c). While the CMP was completed, the other ordered labs were not obtained or on file, as confirmed by the Director of Nursing (DON). Another resident with a history of pseudobulbar affect, stroke, depression, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, anxiety, chronic kidney disease, and other cerebrovascular disease also had several labs ordered (CBC, CMP, TSH, A1c, lipid panel, ferritin, B12, and vitamin D) to be collected on a specified lab day. None of these labs were collected or on file, as verified by the DON. The facility's policy required staff to process test requisitions and arrange for testing, but this was not followed for these residents.
Failure to Complete Physician-Ordered Laboratory Testing
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that laboratory testing was completed as ordered by the physician for one resident. Medical record review showed that the resident, who had diagnoses including malignant neoplasm of the lung, malnutrition, depression, and a history of falls, was admitted with orders from a chemotherapy physician to have specific labs drawn on a set schedule. On one occasion, instead of the required labs, only a Prothrombin Time (PT) and International Normalized Ratio (INR) were collected. On a subsequent attempt, all required labs except for the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) were collected, necessitating another order for the CMP to be drawn on a later date. Interviews with the resident and an LPN confirmed that the labs were not collected as ordered, resulting in the resident missing a chemotherapy treatment. The LPN acknowledged the error in the lab collection process and described the steps taken to attempt to correct the issue, including ordering a STAT lab and reordering the missing test. The deficiency was identified during a complaint investigation and affected one resident out of three reviewed for laboratory testing.
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