It is unethical for any health care professional to prescribe or administer medical tests or treatments to protect themselves against potential liability. They need to do what they believe is in the patients’ best interest. In Mr. Wilson’s doctor’s case, it is ethical to order a coronary angiogram since he wants to ensure the patient does not have any cardiovascular disease because the symptoms portray the possibility of heart problems. The physician is supposed to explain the patient’s test results and importance of the examination. The coronary angiogram is beneficial to Mr. Wilson in the long-run since it confirms that he is free from any heart disease.
If Mr. Wilson sues the physician for performing the unnecessary test, the best defense against the legal litigation will be that the coronary angiogram is a differential diagnosis of his condition. The symptoms shown have made the doctor suspect underlying heart illness. The examination was to ensure that the patient had no cardiovascular condition and that he was safe from any complications. Informed consent from insurance would have impacted the case since no out-of-pocket money will be charged to the patient. Therefore, Mr. Wilson would not have had an incentive for suing the physician.
Scenario 1
The ethical issue in the scenario is that the healthcare provider is trying to delete information she added to the patient’s record, possibly because it was wrong, which can lead to medication errors. Incorrect data entry in the patient’s medical records is detrimental since it leads to inappropriate treatment or medical procedures and potential adverse side effects. It jeopardizes the safety of the sick individual and can reduce the quality of medical services.
I would handle the situation by prioritizing the patient’s interests. Therefore, I would first seek clarification from her regarding why she is erasing the entry. If the issue is related to a mistake in diagnosis, I would recommend recalling the patient and repeat the diagnostic tests to ensure that he/she receives the correct medications. Contacting the compliance hotline to report the incident would be an alternative in handling the situation. She would be compelled to contact the patient and make a correct entry in his or her medical record. Reporting the occurrence would encourage her to be careful whenever she is documenting patient information.
Scenario 2
Copy and paste functionality in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems is designed to make healthcare providers’ work easier and faster. However, most clinicians have been misusing it, raising significant ethical concerns. According to McCann (2013), the action is acceptable under certain conditions which do not risk patients’ safety and treatment outcomes. Doctors and nurses can use the application to duplicate the patient’s regular medications and chronic allergies. Additionally, replication of such demographics as age, gender, ongoing treatments, and problem lists is acceptable. Indeed, appropriate use of the functionality is fundamental, and staff should be educated on the best way to utilize it and provide effective policies to follow.
Importantly, the copy and paste function when using the EHRs is associated with some legal and ethical considerations. The technologies store unlimited legible and instantly accessible patient records. Therefore, if a healthcare provider copies and pastes the information from other patients’ archives, causing medical errors, it will be easier to sue clinicians for negligence (Sulmasy et al., 2017). Additionally, EHRs increase healthcare professional’s legal accountability since it is more convenient to know the person who executed a particular function in the system. Ethical issues are related to privacy and confidentiality as well as data inaccuracies (Sulmasy et al., 2017).
Copying and pasting the notes from one patient record to another increases the risk of access of the protected information about sick individuals by unauthorized persons. The chances for inaccurate medical records and treatments errors are high, threatening patient’s safety and the quality of care. The employee duplicating the notes for her patients should know it risks their well-being (American Health Information Management Association, n.d.). The practice is not in their best interest and needs to be employed on special considerations such as demographics and ongoing medications.
References
American Health Information Management Association. (n.d). Appropriate use of the copy and paste functionality in electronic health records. AHIMA. Web.
McCann, E. (2013). EHR copy and paste? Better think twice. Healthcare IT News.
Sulmasy, L., López, A., & Horwitch, C. (2017). Ethical implications of the electronic health record: in the service of the patient. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 32(8), 935-939.