F771: Ensure laboratory services, blood blanks and transfusion services provided on-site meet requirements for certified laboratories
F771 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Ensure laboratory services, blood blanks and transfusion services provided on-site meet requirements for certified laboratories.
It sits in CMS's administration category.
CMS Health Deficiencies file, data as of September 1, 2026. The files hold each home's last three standard inspections and three years of complaint visits.
How seriously inspectors rate it
Every citation gets a letter for how much harm inspectors found and how many residents it touched (how to read the letters). 33.3% of F771 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: D 2, F 1.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F771 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, June 2, 2025, scope and severity DBased on record review and interview, the facility failed to follow physician orders by not obtaining ordered laboratory tests for 1 of 5 residents reviewed for unnecessary medications. (Resident 6)
Restoracy of Goshen, the, Goshen, IN
Inspectors wrote, October 2, 2024, scope and severity FBased on interview with administrator (employee #10) and review of facility policies and procedures, it was determined that facility failed to determine if they are going to have a relationship with any blood bank services (by contract) in order to provide those services at the facility.
Centro De Cuidado Prolongado San Lucas, Rio Piedras, PR
Inspectors wrote, September 5, 2024, scope and severity DBased on interview and record review, the facility failed to provide or obtain laboratory services to meet the needs of its residents for 1 of 7 residents (Resident #1) reviewed for laboratory services in that: 1. The facility failed to follow physician standing orders for lab blood analysis, on facility admission of Resident #1. These failures could place residents at risk of not having laboratory services completed and cause delay in their care.
The Plaza at Lubbock, Lubbock, TX
Most recent F771 citations
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2, 2025 | Restoracy of Goshen, the | Goshen, IN | D |
| October 2, 2024 | Centro De Cuidado Prolongado San Lucas | Rio Piedras, PR | F |
| September 5, 2024 | The Plaza at Lubbock | Lubbock, TX | D |
F771 citations by state
Counts depend on how many homes a state has and how often its inspectors visit, so a larger number is not by itself a worse record.
| State | Citations |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 |
| Texas | 1 |
By inspection year: 2024 2, 2025 1.
Common questions
- What is F771 in a nursing home inspection?
- F771 is the federal requirement to "ensure laboratory services, blood blanks and transfusion services provided on-site meet requirements for certified laboratories". CMS files it under administration. A home cited under F771 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F771 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 3 F771 citations at 3 nursing homes, 0 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F771 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F771 citations (100.0%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. None in the current files is at the immediate jeopardy level.
The interpretive guidance inspectors use for each F-tag is CMS's State Operations Manual, Appendix PP. NursingHomeClear reports the citations as CMS records them and is not affiliated with CMS. All F-tags · Methodology