Physician Order Signing Deficiency
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that physicians signed and dated all orders during their visits for four residents. The facility's policy, titled "Physician Services," mandates that physician orders and progress notes comply with current regulations. However, the clinical records of four residents revealed that their physician orders were not reviewed, signed, and dated as required. Specifically, the last recorded review, signature, and date for three residents occurred on the same date, while one resident's orders had not been reviewed, signed, or dated at all. Interviews with facility staff, including a Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator and the Director of Nursing (DON), confirmed the oversight. The DON acknowledged that the physician orders for three residents should have been signed every sixty days, but were not signed in the months of September 2024, November 2024, or January 2025. Additionally, the DON confirmed that the orders for the fourth resident should have been signed at admission and every thirty days thereafter for the first ninety days, which did not occur in November 2024, December 2024, or January 2025.
Plan Of Correction
Residents R26, R36, R37, and R42 orders have all been signed/dated by the Elmwood medical staff. Nursing Home Administrator notified the Elmwood medical staff of this noncompliance, and the medical team immediately reviewed, signed, and dated all applicable orders. All other residents' orders have been reviewed by the Elmwood medical staff, and all other residents' orders are in compliance with being signed/dated by the applicable Elmwood medical staff. Physician orders education has been provided to the Elmwood medical staff regarding the requirement of timeliness in reviewing and signing off on resident orders; education was conducted by Nursing Home Administrator. Director of Nursing or designee will conduct whole house audits to ensure compliance with the signing and dating of all orders. Audits will be conducted weekly for 4 weeks, biweekly for 4 weeks, and then monthly for 2 months. Results of these audits will be reviewed at the quarterly quality assurance meeting; any unfavorable auditing results will result in immediate corrective action step(s).
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
A physician’s post-hospitalization progress note for a resident who had recently been treated for severe sepsis, severe hypernatremia, constipation, and had a PEG tube placed failed to document the hospitalization, the reasons for admission, the hospital diagnoses, or the new PEG and tube-feeding status. Instead, the note contained a general review of systems and physical exam with an assessment of CVA and constipation, without reflecting the recent acute conditions or significant change in nutritional route.
A resident with a history of stroke-related pain had an order entered by nursing for Tramadol 50 mg PO BID for moderate pain, but the medication was not administered for four consecutive days because the physician did not sign the controlled-substance order until several days after it was written. During this time, the resident reported ongoing, typical post-stroke pain and requested to resume Tramadol, which had previously been effective. The DON and NP confirmed that controlled medications require a physician’s signature before pharmacy dispensing, and the facility’s own medication administration policy called for safe, timely administration and appropriate handling of missed or delayed medications, which did not occur in this case.
The facility failed to ensure physician orders were reviewed and signed at least every 60 days for three residents, including individuals with dementia, severe protein calorie malnutrition, chronic pulmonary disease, and a history of TIA who required assistance with ADLs and transfers per MD orders. All three were on a 60‑day review schedule, yet the last signed orders for two residents dated back several months, and the facility could not determine when the third resident’s orders were last signed. The DNS and a corporate RN acknowledged that orders should be signed every 60 days, noted that the MD was new to electronic signatures and had not signed the affected orders, and were unable to identify a facility process or provide a policy to ensure timely physician signatures.
The facility failed to ensure that a physician consistently documented required visit notes, including review of the total program of care, for four residents under one physician’s care. Over extended periods, the EHR contained only sporadic or no physician progress notes for these residents, despite the physician reporting that he visited them every other month and was in the building weekly. During the same time, multiple visits by an NP and a PA were documented. In interviews, the DON confirmed the physician’s regular presence but could not explain the missing notes, and the physician acknowledged that his notes were not in the records and stated he must not have entered them. The Administrator reported there was no policy addressing clinical record accuracy or ensuring that physicians documented a note after each visit.
The facility failed to ensure the attending physician documented required monthly visits with signed and dated progress notes for four residents. Records for residents with diagnoses including dementia, bipolar disorder, functional quadriplegia, conversion disorder, GERD, anxiety, and HTN showed extended gaps with no physician progress notes, and the NHA confirmed the missing documentation during interview.
A resident with multiple chronic conditions was transferred to the hospital and did not return, yet an after-visit summary later documented that the medical director examined the resident in the facility, including detailed vital signs and discussion of numerous diagnoses. The resident had already left and was subsequently discharged, but the physician still billed for doctor and nursing home care for that date, and payment was processed. Facility leadership confirmed the resident was not present when the visit was documented and acknowledged that the physician’s documentation was inaccurate, contrary to facility policy requiring objective and accurate charting.
Incomplete Post-Hospitalization Physician Documentation After Sepsis and PEG Placement
Penalty
Summary
A physician failed to complete a thorough post-hospitalization examination and progress note for a resident following readmission from the hospital. The resident, an elderly female long-term resident with a history of stroke with right-sided paralysis, aphasia, oropharyngeal dysphagia, behavioral disturbance, seizures, urinary and bowel incontinence, and severe cognitive impairment (BIMS 99), had been hospitalized for altered mental status and returned to the facility after treatment. The hospital discharge summary documented severe sepsis due to complicated UTI, severe hypernatremia likely due to poor oral intake and dehydration, combative behavior, severe constipation, an incidental pelvic mass requiring further outpatient MRI evaluation, and placement of a PEG tube for nutrition. On the post-hospitalization visit dated 02/17/26, the attending physician’s progress note documented a general review of systems and physical exam, including stable vital signs, normal HEENT, cardiovascular, respiratory, abdominal, and extremity findings, and an assessment and plan listing CVA with supportive care and constipation managed on the current regimen. However, the note did not indicate that the resident had been recently hospitalized, did not state the reasons for hospitalization, hospital course, or diagnoses, and did not mention that a PEG tube had been surgically inserted and that the resident would now be receiving tube feedings for nutrition. The surveyors determined that the physician’s documentation did not reflect the resident’s current health status on return to the facility, as required.
Failure to Provide Ordered Narcotic Pain Medication Due to Unsigned Physician Order
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure a resident received physician-ordered narcotic pain medication as prescribed. A resident admitted with diagnoses including muscle weakness had a physician order for Tramadol 50 mg by mouth twice daily for moderate pain, with an order date of 4/3/26 at 3:15 p.m. The Medication Administration Record for 4/1/26 through 4/30/26 showed that Tramadol was not documented as administered from the evening of 4/3/26 through 4/7/26. The facility’s Medication Administration Policy required safe, accurate, and timely medication administration, including assessment and documentation of missed or delayed medications and adherence to physician orders, but the ordered Tramadol was not provided during this period. Record review showed that the Tramadol order was entered by nursing on 4/3/26, and the resident later reported to the nurse practitioner on 4/7/26 that they were having pain all over due to a prior stroke, that this pain was typical, and that they had taken Tramadol in the past with good effect and wanted to resume it. The nurse practitioner documented a trial of Tramadol 50 mg twice daily if approved by the physician. The DON stated there was an order for Tramadol on 4/3/26 that was not signed by the physician until 4/7/26, and that the medication could not be sent from the pharmacy until after the physician signed the order. The nurse practitioner confirmed that prescriptions for controlled medications such as Tramadol must be signed by the physician and that the medication could not be dispensed until the physician’s signature was obtained. As a result, the resident did not receive the ordered Tramadol for four consecutive days.
Failure to Obtain Timely Physician Signatures on 60‑Day Order Reviews
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure that physician or designee orders were reviewed and renewed at least every 60 days for three residents. For one resident with dementia and delusional disorders, a quarterly MDS showed moderate cognitive impairment and a need for assistance with ADLs, while the care plan identified an alteration in ADL function with interventions to assist as needed. This resident was on a 60‑day schedule for review and renewal of physician orders, but the last signed orders were dated September 2025, and there were no signed physician orders from October 2025 through February 2026, either on paper or electronically. A second resident with severe protein calorie malnutrition, chronic pulmonary disease, and a history of transient ischemic attack had a quarterly MDS indicating no cognitive impairment but a need for assistance with ADLs, and a care plan directing assistance with ADLs and transfers per MD orders. This resident was also on a 60‑day schedule, yet the last signed orders were dated September 2025, with no signed orders from October 2025 through February 2026. A third resident with dementia, severe cognitive impairment, and dependence in ADLs had a care plan noting altered ADLs and interventions to assist as needed and transfer per MD orders; this resident was likewise on a 60‑day schedule, but the facility could not identify when the orders were last signed, and they were not signed in September 2025. Interviews with the DNS and a corporate RN confirmed that orders should be signed at least every 60 days, that the physician was new to electronic signatures and had not signed the orders for these residents, and that there was no identified facility process to ensure timely signing of orders. The facility did not provide a policy related to physician orders or electronic signatures when requested.
Failure to Ensure Physician Visit Documentation in Clinical Records
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a physician reviewed residents’ total programs of care and documented visit notes, including progress notes and orders, at each required visit for four of five sampled residents under the care of one physician. For one resident with hypertension encephalopathy, stroke, anxiety disorder, and other conditions, the electronic record showed only two visit notes from the primary physician over an approximately ten‑month period, despite the physician reporting that he saw the resident every other month. During that same timeframe, multiple visit notes were documented by NPs and a PA, but there were no additional physician notes between early June 2025 and late April 2026. For a second resident with pneumonia, dysphagia, anemia, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, diabetes, and severely impaired cognition, record review from mid‑January to late April 2026 revealed no physician visit notes from the primary physician, although numerous visit notes were entered by a PA. A third resident with lymphedema, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, COPD, cellulitis, and moderately impaired cognition had no physician visit notes from admission through late April 2026, while NPs and a PA documented several visits during that period. A fourth resident with anxiety disorder, hyperlipidemia, bipolar disorder, neuromuscular bladder dysfunction, and fibromyalgia likewise had no physician visit notes from admission through late April 2026, despite multiple NP and PA visit notes. In interviews, the DON stated that the physician was in the facility weekly to see his residents and could not explain the absence of physician progress notes for the affected residents. The physician confirmed he was in the facility weekly, that he alternated visits with his NP and PA, and that he believed he had seen all four residents numerous times, including in February 2026, but acknowledged that his notes were not present in the electronic records and stated he “must not have put a note” in the records. The Administrator reported that she checked the electronic records after physician visits but noted that providers often delayed entering notes and also stated there was no facility policy on accuracy of clinical records or ensuring that physicians wrote a note after each visit. The report states that this deficient practice could place residents at risk for physician‑identified concerns, inadequate monitoring of medical conditions, and miscommunication with other health care providers.
Missing Physician Progress Notes for Required Visits
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that the attending physician documented required monthly visits by writing, signing, and dating a progress note for each visit for four of 14 residents reviewed. Facility policy stated that attending physicians were to visit residents once monthly and document a progress note related to the visit. Review of clinical records showed that Resident R1, who had diagnoses including dementia, Wernicke encephalopathy, and high blood pressure, had physician progress notes dated and signed on several dates, but the record lacked evidence of any physician progress notes between 10/23/24 and 7/16/25, a nine-month period. Resident R2, with diagnoses including bipolar disorder, obstructive and reflux uropathy, and functional quadriplegia, had a last physician progress note dated and signed on 9/28/25, with no evidence of any physician progress notes between that date and 4/23/26. Resident R6, diagnosed with conversion disorder, GERD, and high blood pressure, also had no physician progress notes between 9/18/25 and 4/23/26. Resident R30, with diagnoses including dementia, anxiety, and high blood pressure, had no physician progress notes between 6/17/25 and 4/23/26. During interview, the Nursing Home Administrator confirmed that the records for these residents lacked the required physician progress notes at the time of review.
False Physician Documentation and Billing for Non-Resident
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure that the physician accurately documented and provided services as recorded in the medical record, resulting in false documentation and billing for services not rendered. A long-term resident with multiple diagnoses, including heart failure, pulmonary fibrosis, dysphagia, memory problems, and dependence on staff for ADLs, was admitted to the facility and later transferred to the hospital for a change in condition, without returning to the facility. The resident’s actual date of leaving the facility was documented as mid-month, and the facility stopped billing at the end of that month. A progress note later documented that the resident was not returning to the facility following the hospital transfer. Despite the resident’s non-return and discharge status, an after-visit summary dated approximately two weeks after the hospital transfer documented that the medical director examined the resident in the facility, including a detailed discussion of multiple medical conditions and specific vital signs. An insurance statement showed that the physician billed for doctor and nursing home care on that date, and payment was processed. The AD confirmed the resident should not have been billed after the end of the month, and the DON acknowledged that the physician’s documentation was sometimes inaccurate and verified that the resident was not in the facility when the after-visit was completed. Email correspondence from the physician confirmed he had documented seeing the resident at the facility on that date even though she had transferred to the hospital with no return, contrary to the facility’s policy requiring objective, complete, and accurate documentation in the medical record.
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