Question

carter always had trouble hearing blood pressures when on a geriatric patient and is scared to admit this difficulty since this is only his second week on the job. carter tries twice and give up. he looks up the patient’s last few reading and comes up with an average reading that he documents in the chart.

1. was it permissible for him to document the reading he averaged?

2. what possible implications might his action have on the patient?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. No  2. See below

Explanation:

1. No because falsifying medical tests results is a crime.

2. This could be detrimental to the patient if the patient's blood pressure had either increased or decreased during this time when Carter falsified his test result.  A changing blood pressure indicates a change in something in the person's health.  If the patient's blood pressure did indeed change, the physician would have never known that this happened since the test was falsified.  It could lead to incorrect diagnosing, incorrect medication dosage or even death or permanent damage.