Rule 3701-17-17 | Medicines and drugs.
(A) The nursing home will provide or obtain routine and emergency medicines, drugs and biologicals for its resident except if restricted by state or federal law. The nursing home is obligated to permit residents to use and continue to obtain medicines, drugs and biologicals dispensed to them from a pharmacy of choice provided the medicines, drugs and biologicals meet the standards of this rule.
(1) Each nursing home will provide pharmacy services by employing a pharmacist on either a full-time, part-time, or consultant basis or by contracting with a pharmacy service. The pharmacist or pharmacy service is responsible for maintaining supervision and control of the stocking and dispensing of drugs and biologicals in the home in accordance with state pharmacy rules.
(2) The nursing home, in conjunction with the pharmacist or pharmacy service, will:
(a) Maintain an emergency and contingency drug supply for use in the absence of the pharmacist; and
(b) Ensure that the contingency drug supply is maintained in accordance with state pharmacy rules.
(B) Medicines and drugs are to be given only to the individual resident for whom they are prescribed, be given in accordance with the directions on the prescription or the physician's orders, provided in a manner to ensure the privacy of the resident, and be recorded on the resident's medication administration record.
(C) Every container of medicine and drugs prescribed for a resident will be properly and clearly labeled in accordance with applicable state regulations as to the following:
(1) Date dispensed.
(2) Name of resident.
(3) Directions for use.
(4) Name of the prescriber.
(5) Name of the drug, strength, and prescription number if there is one.
(D) Containers too small to bear a complete prescription label will be labeled with at least the prescription number and the name of the resident, unless application of this label would impair the functioning of the product, and be dispensed in a container bearing a complete prescription label.
(E) The nursing home will ensure that:
(1) All medications and drugs are stored under proper temperature controls and secured against unauthorized access;
(2) All medicines and drugs, including those needing refrigeration, will be kept in locked storage areas and separate from materials that may contaminate the medicines and drugs such as poisonous substances; and
(3) Where a pharmacist is not present twenty-four hours-a-day, keys to locked contingency drug supplies are made available to a health care professional licensed under Chapter 4723. or 4731. of the Revised Code and authorized by such chapters to administer drugs.
(F) Each nursing home will ensure that the following standards regarding individual resident's drugs are met:
(1) Appropriate drugs for an individual resident, upon order of a prescriber, are sent with or arranged for the resident upon temporary absence other than for hospital leave.
(2) At the order of a prescriber, a resident's drugs are sent with or arranged for the resident upon transfer and discharge. Drugs not so ordered by the prescriber upon transfer or discharge are to be returned to the pharmacy or disposed of in accordance with any applicable state or federal laws, rules and regulations.
(3) Upon death of a resident all drugs are to be returned to the pharmacy, or disposed of in accordance with any applicable state or federal laws, rules, and regulations.
(4) Prior to admission, the nursing home will ensure that a prospective resident's medications will be available without an interruption in the timely administration of the medication in accordance with the resident's treatment plan as disclosed to the nursing home. If the nursing home is notified of a change in medication in a resident's plan of care during the admission process or a medication is not available in house or will not be available through the nursing home's pharmacy supplier in time for the resident's next scheduled dose, the nursing home will:
(a) Contact the prescriber to obtain additional instructions and/or a prescription for an appropriate alternative medication to be provided to the resident while waiting on the original prescription to be filled and be made available to the facility; or
(b) If the original prescriber is not available, the nursing home will contact the nursing home medical director for the same assistance.
(G) Paragraph (F) of this rule does not preclude a nursing home from charging a resident for medications and drugs provided to the resident upon discharge for which the resident has not already paid.
(H) Controlled substances will be ordered, dispensed, administered, and disposed of in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations.
(I) The nursing home will ensure that the pharmaceutical needs of each resident are met and that the drug regimen of each resident is reviewed and documented at least once a month by a pharmacist.
(J) The nursing home will coordinate the ordering of medicines, drugs and biologicals for hospice patients with the appropriate hospice care program.
(K) The nursing home will have a plan for making sufficient medications and records of residents' orders available to ensure continuity of care in the event of an emergency evacuation or closure.
Last updated July 17, 2025 at 7:56 AM
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