The latest incident placing DMC at risk of losing its Medicare funding stemmed from the death of a nursing home patient. The patient, who came into the hospital for rectal bleeding, received a dosage of a calcium channel blocker much higher than the federally approved limit. The patient eventually died from a calcium channel blocker overdose, according to the report. The patient death initiated an investigation by CMS officials.
After the investigation, federal regulators cited deficiencies with DMC’s nursing services, pharmaceutical services, patient rights regulations and governing body oversight.
The most recent problem “was a very unfortunate event with a breakdown of a number of processes,” Cheryl Iverson, DeKalb Medical Center’s vice president of marketing communications and corporate health, told Georgia Health News. “It’s a tough thing to face, when you make mistakes and harm someone.”
Ms. Iverson added that the hospital immediately reported the patient death to regulators and began a corrective action plan.
In August, DMC faced Medicare funding termination after improperly handling the discharge of a patient with a mental illness. That situation was resolved and CMS rescinded its Medicare contract termination after approving DMC’s plan of correction.
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