When did the OPWDD policy that a medication must be given within 1 hour (that is 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the listed time on the MAR) go into effect?
The establishment of the 1 hour (30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the listed time on the MAR) window for medication administration first appeared in 1978 when the agency initially established its nursing policies. It was published in the official OPWDD Nursing Manual (page 311), and was maintained throughout its various revisions well into the 1990’s. In 1989 the medication administration regulations were revised (effective January 1, 1990). The group revising the regulations embarked on a long discussion of what lee-way staff should have to administer medications. At that time it was the consensus of the group to maintain the established agency policy of 1 hour to give a medication (that is 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the scheduled time). As Maryel Clare, the chairperson of the group explained it to people “OPWDD accepts one hour, not two. Therefore the staff may have up to 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the scheduled time (this equals 60 minutes or one hour).” T
