NAC449.2748. Medication: Storage; duties upon discharge, transfer and return of resident.

     1. Medication, including, without limitation, any over-the-counter medication, stored at a residential facility must be stored in a locked area that is cool and dry. The caregivers employed by the facility shall ensure that any medication or medical or diagnostic equipment that may be misused or appropriated by a resident or any other unauthorized person is protected. Medications for external use only must be kept in a locked area separate from other medications. A resident who is capable of administering medication to himself or herself without supervision may keep the resident’s medication in his or her room if the medication is kept in a locked container for which the facility has been provided a key.

     2. Medication stored in a refrigerator, including, without limitation, any over-the-counter medication, must be kept in a locked box unless the refrigerator is locked or is located in a locked room.

     3. Medication, including, without limitation, any over-the-counter medication or dietary supplement, must be:

     (a) Plainly labeled as to its contents, the name of the resident for whom it is prescribed and the name of the prescribing physician; and

     (b) Kept in its original container until it is administered.

     4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, when a resident is discharged or transferred from a residential facility, all medications prescribed for the resident must be provided to the resident or to the facility to which he or she is transferred.

     5. If a resident is transferred to a hospital or skilled nursing facility, the residential facility shall hold the resident’s medications until the resident returns or for 30 days after the transfer, whichever is less, unless the hospital or skilled nursing facility requests the residential facility to provide the hospital or skilled nursing facility with the medications. If the resident does not return within 30 days after the transfer, the residential facility shall promptly dispose of any remaining medications. Upon the return of the resident from the hospital or skilled nursing facility, the residential facility shall, if there has been any change in the resident’s medication regimen:

     (a) Contact a physician, within 24 hours after the resident returns, to clarify the change; and

     (b) Document the physician contact in the record maintained pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NAC 449.2744.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health by R003-97, eff. 10-30-97; A by R204-99, 2-10-2000; R073-03, 1-22-2004)