An error in a health record
There is an error in a health record that has been subpoenaed. This is a good-faith error and should be corrected. It has to do with the information the plaintiff is interested in and could be damaging to the defendant–physician if changed, but also damaging if unchanged. The physician asks you to blot out the error, write in the correct information and put the paper, with surrounding papers, through the copy machine. What do you do?
Sample Solution
When a health record is subpoenaed and an error has been made, I would not advise blurring out the incorrect information or writing in the correct one. This would be a violation of the patient’s right to privacy as well as medical ethics (Anderson & Munglani, 2014). As such, it is important for me to remain truthful and accurate when dealing with these records so that no false assumptions are made about the patient’s medical history. Furthermore, altering any existing documents could potentially lead to legal troubles for both myself and the physician.
Instead of editing out or adding any new information, I would explain that an error was made in good faith but must still be addressed regardless of whether it benefits either party. In order to avoid tampering with any evidence I will suggest filing a motion with the court stating the truth behind this situation. If granted permission by the court then we can move forward with changing whatever needs to be changed while also ensuring transparency throughout this process.
