06/08/2023
Survey Tip of the Week: Medication Storage
A facility must ensure safe and secure storage (including proper temperature controls, appropriate humidity and light controls, limited access, and mechanisms to minimize loss or diversion) of all medication in accordance with the regulatory requirement F-tag 761 §483.45(h) Storage of Drugs and Biologicals. Schedule II-V medications must be maintained in separately locked, permanently affixed compartments. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notes that a facility is required to secure all medications in a locked storage area and to limit access to authorized personnel (for example, pharmacy technicians or assistants who have been delegated access to medications by the facility’s pharmacist as a function of their jobs) consistent with state or federal requirements and professional standards of practice.
Storage areas may include, but are not limited to, drawers, cabinets, medication rooms, refrigerators, and carts.
LeadingAge Ohio encourages facilities to use the medication storage survey pathway to evaluate facility compliance as part of the internal QAPI process. Additional guidance on F-tag 761 can be found in the State Operations Manual Appendix PP.
The State Operations Manual Appendix PP and other survey resources can be found on the CMS Nursing Home webpage and under the downloads section on this CMS webpage. LeadingAge continues to develop webinars and resources on the updated requirements of participation which will be located on the LeadingAge learning hub. LeadingAge also continues to add QuickCasts on the regulatory groups. Updated resources have also been added on the Nursing Home RoP Tools and Resources webpage.
For more information about the updated requirements of participation and citations occurring in Ohio, please join us on the monthly STAT: Survey Tips and Tactics call. Register now for the June 14 call at 11:00AM. LeadingAge Ohio is sharing tips to assist members during the survey process. Send questions you would like addressed in future Tips of the Week to Stephanie DeWees at sdewees@leadingageohio.org.
