Falsifying documents is considered a criminal offense that is punishable by a fine or even jail time. It is also considered a medical malpractice case. An RN involved in such a case could lose his/her license. Altering or tampering with medical records can be dangerous to the patients. But if an RN is accused of doing such a crime, a nurse attorney is crucially needed.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and had been in that position for five (5) months.
On or about November 14, 2018, while employed as a Registered Nurse, and assigned to provide nursing care for a patient, the RN submitted an inaccurate Skilled Nursing Flowsheet for skilled nursing care she did not perform starting at 0800. Subsequently, the RN admitted to Management that she did not begin care for the patient until 1400 on November 14, 2018. the RN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record.
In response to the incident, the RN states that on November 14, 2018, she arrived at the patient’s school, Jones Elementary in Rockwall, Texas, on or about 0800 as scheduled. The RN states she did not recall that the patient had an appointment scheduled for the morning of November 14, 2018, at 0745 until she was notified by the patient’s teacher that he had not shown up to school that morning due to said appointment. The RN states the patient’s mother had notified her of the appointment a week prior via email, and she later found the timing of the appointment atypical due to the patient’s mother’s knowledge of the RN’s daughter’s need to be at school by 0730, as per her usual schedule, and that the clinic did not open until 0800, which indicated inconsistencies with the time provided by the patient’s mother. The RN states that shortly after realizing the untimely situation, the RN contacted the patient’s mother, who then notified the RN via email that the patient’s father would contact the RN once the patient’s appointment was completed. The RN states at 1136, she emailed the patient’s mother (mother’s preferred method of contact) and asked if she could be relieved for the day since she had remained available and within the vicinity of the patient’s home while waiting for the patient with no word from the patient’s father. The RN states that at about 1200, the patient’s father texted her to notify her that they were back in town and that they were “heading home.” The RN states that when she asked if the patient would be returning to school, the patient’s father responded, “no, just meet them at therapy at 2”, referencing the patient’s regularly scheduled ABA therapy appointment in Rockwall at 1400. The RN states after responding to the patient’s father that she had been waiting in Rockwall for four hours, the patient’s father then called her in a very apologetic manner and asked that she continue to wait. The RN states he then verbalized that per his wife/the patient’s mother, to document the findings from the patient’s appointment.
The Texas Board of Nursing gave the RN the chance to defend herself. However, she was not able to provide a good defense for herself, especially when the drug screening results were brought up to her. Therefore, the Board placed her RN license to disciplinary action instead.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed against you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse lawyers who helped various nurses in their cases since 2006. You may contact him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 for more information or if you want to schedule a private consultation.