Hospital Failed to Probe Alleged Drug Loss

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Cumberland County hospital has been cited for failing to investigate a complaint by a patient that some 240 oxycodone tablets had disappeared when she sought to recover them at the time of discharge.
The 16-page report recently made public by Pennsylvania health officials states that officials of the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Mechanicsburg didn't even record the complaint from the patient's family in a facility complaint log.
The facility "failed to conduct a timely and comprehensive investigation of a complaint presented by the family of Patient MR1."
The patient had been admitted to the 75-bed facility in early April, but upon her discharge on April 19 the family was told the pills were not among her possessions.
A review of hospital records by state surveyors showed that a patient form to record any possessions at the time of admission was left blank and never filled out for the patient.
In fact the inspectors concluded the hospital did not even have "step-by-step" policies and procedures in place for staff to follow during the admissions process.
In the plan of correction filed by the hospital, the facility administrators said they have since put in place procedures to be followed during the admission process. They said they also counseled and re-educated staffers on the proper procedures,
In the future the hospital said if a patient arrives with prescription drugs not prescribed by a staff physician, the drugs will be sent back with the patient's family
When a hospital employee was asked why the complaint had never been investigated or reported, the response was "We never had those medications in the first place."
The report also faults the facility for failing to report the suspected drug diversion to the state Attorney General of the state health authority.
In its response hospital officials said they had checked with the state Attorney General's office and were told the matter did not need to be reported. The hospital did file a belated report to the state Patient Safety Authority.
In an unrelated finding the inspectors stated that the facility was out of compliance with other state requirements because medical staffers were not on-site after 8 p.m. every day.
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