Falsfication of medical records - Assignment Example

Falsifying patient’s medical records is a case of negligence and it can result in the deterioration of a patient’s health and in some cases the death of the patients. Lundstrom further explains that there are cases where costly medical law suits drive hospital administrators to recreate medical records. This serves as a desperate measure to cover up their neglectful care (Lundstrom, 2013). Lundstrom looks at the various patterns in falsification of medical records. Dressenhaul and Peabody (2002) explain that recording false positives leads to overestimation of the quality care in critical areas such as physical examination.

According to Lundstrom, medical practitioners falsify medical records to cover up neglect or unprofessional acts that result in the death of a patient. In such cases, the nursing home administrators rewrite the records to minimize liability. There are other cases where staff members fill in blank patient charts without confirming whether treatment has taken place and there has been accuracy of the information. The pharmacy department also experiences cases of medical record falsification when medications are cleared off from the pharmacy, but later discrepancies in the pharmacy records are reported or boxes of medication are found unopened.

There are other cases where nurses falsify consent forms to enable them to sedate patients. In some cases, nursing home staff alter dates in medical records to cover up acts of negligence during an audit (Lundstrom, 2013). Pozgar (2009) points out that falsifying of medical records is a professional misconduct. Patients expect from health practitioners to keep accurate and adequate records that show their medical history. Accurate and adequate medical records facilitate effective communication of health requirements between practitioners and patients.

Inaccurate documentation jeopardizes a patient’s health. Falsified documents shatter a practitioner’s credibility (Pozgar, 2009). According to Pozgar, a health practitioner has a duty towards the patient to maintain the accuracy, truth, integrity and reliability of the medical records. Pozgar explains that inaccurate, misleading or false information in a medical record prejudices the patients care. When a practitioner falsifies a patient’s medical information for his own interests, it is regarded as a gross medical malpractice for this endangers the patients’ health.

Daniels (2004) explains that falsifying of medical records constitutes unprofessional conduct. Falsifying medical records is a breach of duty. Such negligence by medical practitioners goes against professional ethics. Medical record falsification can cost a health practitioner their license to practice (Daniels, 2004). Falsification of medical documents goes against certain principles in nursing practice. Whitehead, Weiss, and Tappen describe the principle of nonmaleficence, which requires that a nurse should not do any harm either deliberately or unintentionally to a patient.

The principle requires that nurses protect patients, especially those who are unable to protect themselves, like mentally challenged patients or physically challenges patients. Falsifying medical documents endangers a patient’s health (Whitehead, Weiss and Tappen, 2007). Medical records falsification breaches the principle of fidelity that requires nurses to fulfil their responsibilities as nursing practices state. Nurses