Your nursing practice surely means a great to you, your family, your employer, your professional colleagues, your patients, and your community. Don't underestimate the rewards you draw from your nursing job and career, especially when facing state nursing board disciplinary charges alleging that you falsified patient records. Falsifying records is a serious disciplinary charge that could cost your nursing license, job, and career. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now to retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best outcome to state nursing board disciplinary charges.
Patient Records Role in Patient Care
The primary role of accurate and complete patient medical records is timely and effective patient care. Physicians, nurses, and nearly every other health professional involved in a patient's care depend to some degree on the patient's medical records. Patient medical records can pass through dozens of professionals' hands, each with some role in patient care. An error in a record, failure to complete a record, failure to correct or update a record, or, worst of all, a falsified record can throw off the patient's care in any number of hazardous directions. A patient with falsified records may get no critically needed care, the wrong care, or even unintentionally injurious or fatal care for the misinformation the falsified record conveys or the lack of information the falsified record fails to convey. Beware your state nursing board's falsified records and disciplinary charges. Let us help defend and defeat the charge.
Employer Interests in Reliable Patient Records
Your nursing employer relies heavily on the accuracy and integrity of patient and other healthcare and billing records. Think of it. Erroneous or altered patient records could mean your employer's inability to provide patients with critical, safe, and competent medical care. Inaccurate or falsified records of medical and nursing care could prevent your employer from billing and collecting for services. Falsified records could also lead to federal and state criminal charges, regulatory action, civil fines, and recovery actions for fraudulent Medicare billing. For example, Michigan Compiled Law Section 750.492a makes it a felony crime for a healthcare provider or other person to intentionally “place in a patient's medical record or chart misleading or inaccurate information regarding the diagnosis, treatment, or cause of a patient's condition.” For another example, altering patient records violates HIPAA's Privacy Rule and can lead to serious federal criminal charges. As the saying goes in healthcare, it didn't happen if the records don't reflect it. Healthcare is such a closely regulated profession that detailed, accurate, consistent, coded, and conforming recordkeeping is absolutely essential to institutional integrity. It isn't all about the paperwork, but then again, in a sense, it is.
State Nursing Board Interests in Records Falsification
State nursing boards don't have the same financial and reputational interests that nursing employers have in reliable patient records. But state nursing boards have an equal or greater interest in reliable patient records to employer interests when the issue comes to patient health and safety. State nursing practice acts establish and empower state nursing boards with the primary mission to protect patient safety. See, for example, the Ohio Board of Nursing's mission statement, the top priority of which is “to remove unsafe practitioners in a timely manner to protect Ohio patients.”
The number one duty of state nursing boards is to protect patients. Falsified records do not protect patients. As explained above, falsified records can lead to serious patient harm. Falsified records can also undermine public trust and confidence in the nursing profession when state nursing boards have the duty to preserve that trust and confidence. Don't doubt your state nursing board's strong interest in pursuing disciplinary charges over falsified records. Let us help defend the charges.
Nursing Board Authority to Discipline
Your state nursing board has clear legislature authority to discipline you if it properly determines that you falsified patient records or committed another disciplinary wrong. State nursing practice acts routinely authorize state nursing boards to impose discipline on a list of enumerated grounds. For example, Tennessee Nurse Practice Act Section 63-7-115 authorizes the Tennessee Board of Nursing to suspend or revoke a nursing license on multiple general and specific grounds. The Tennessee Department of Health publishes disciplinary action reports against nurses and other health professionals, including names, sanctions, and wrongs. Your state nursing practice act will have a similar discipline provision and follow a similar practice of taking and publishing disciplinary action. Don't doubt your state nursing board's willingness to discipline you for falsifying patient records or other wrongs. Get our skilled and experienced defense help.
Disciplinary Grounds for Falsified Records
State nursing practice acts routinely enumerate disciplinary grounds that reach falsifying records, either specifically or through catch-all provisions. Tennessee Nurse Practice Act Section 63-7-115 is an example, authorizing discipline for committing a crime, demonstrating unfitness in practice, or engaging in unprofessional conduct. Falsifying a patient's medical records can fall into all three of those categories: criminal conduct, unfit practice, and unprofessional conduct.
Texas Nurse Practice Act Section 301.452 is another example, authorizing discipline for “failure to care adequately for a patient or to conform to the minimum standards of acceptable nursing practice in a manner that, in the board's opinion, exposes a patient or other person unnecessarily to risk of harm.” Once again, falsifying patient records would easily fall under that disciplinary ground. Don't doubt your state nursing board's authority to discipline you specifically for falsifying medical records, among other disciplinary grounds.
Defending Disciplinary Charges for Falsifying Records
A disciplinary charge is not the same as a finding of a disciplinary wrong. Disciplinary charges are accusations or allegations, not findings. In charging you with falsifying records, your state nursing board is only saying that it believes that you may have done so, not that it knows that you did. Depending on your circumstances, we may be able to raise any number of potential defenses to your falsified records charge, including the following:
- You did not make the alleged entries or alterations, which others made instead without your knowledge or involvement;
- Others are falsely accusing you to cover up their own wrongs or for other reasons not attributable to you;
- The records were accurate, consistent with the patient's condition and your knowledge at the time you made the entries;
- The records are in their original condition, not altered, and you are aware of no alteration of the records by others;
- The records were altered after they left your control and possession without your involvement;
- No patient suffered any injury, loss, or harm due to any alleged alteration of records;
- Forensic nursing consultant review confirms that your actions with respect to the records met customary nursing standards;
- Forensic computer consultant review indicates that you did not alter or falsify electronically stored records, to which many others had greater access than you;
- You have a long and unblemished record of competent nursing care without disciplinary complaint or sanction;
- Your supervising nurses and colleague physicians, nurses, and aides regard you as an excellent and reliable patient recordkeeper;
- You have substantial training and experience in patient recordkeeping beyond that of other nurses in your workplace;
- No one directly observed.
Factors Influencing Charges for Falsifying Records
As the above defenses suggest, certain factors can influence whether you will face disciplinary charges or suffer sanction on disciplinary charges for allegedly altering or falsifying records. Our attorneys know how to evaluate those factors and deploy them strategically on your behalf in communications, advocacy, and negotiations. Here are some of the factors that may influence whether you face charges or sanctions for allegedly falsifying or altering records:
- Whether anyone directly observed your alleged falsification or, instead, the charge depends on circumstantial evidence;
- Whether any patient suffered harm, loss, or injury because of the allegedly falsified records;
- Whether you have the trust, confidence, and respect of your supervising nurse and colleague nurses and physicians;
- Whether your employer is supporting or opposing you with respect to the disciplinary charges;
- The nature and extent of the alleged falsifications and alterations, and whether they included critical patient information;
- The putative motive for the alleged falsification and alterations, including whether to cover up for a different wrong you or another allegedly committed;
- Whether your supervising nurse, a physician, or other superior directed or requested that you falsify or alter the patient record;
- Whether you sought or had any other advice or guidance on whether, when, and how to alter or make the alleged false entries on the disputed record;
- Whether you had a prior warning or correction regarding falsifying or altering records that you ignored and violated in the alleged instance;
- The number of alteration or falsification events, over what duration, and with what frequency.
Avoiding Disciplinary Investigation over Records
We may be able to help you avoid a disciplinary investigation for falsifying or altering a record if you retain us when you learn of the concern before it reaches your state nursing board and its officials. We may be able to help you gather evidence to articulate and confirm your defense to, or innocent explanation for, the alleged alteration or falsification. We may then be able to help you diplomatically present that evidence and explanation to the concerned individuals, whether a patient, patient's family members, legal representative, or your colleagues or employer representative. Do not coerce, bribe, or threaten anyone to discourage a state nursing board complaint. State board officials may construe your action as obstructing an investigation, resulting in a more serious disciplinary charge. Let us help you sensitively and appropriately head off a baseless and burdensome investigation with your accurate, truthful, and documented account of your responsible and sound defense.
Responding to State Board Investigation
If you learn of a state board investigation into your alleged falsification or alteration of patient records, retain us to help you in the same fashion as just discussed above. We can help you present your accurate, truthful, and documented account to the investigator while helping you avoid carelessly inaccurate or inconsistent statements, speculation, or conjecture. Do not put your own neck in the noose with speculation and guesses that later come back to haunt you as grounds for disciplinary charges of lying and obstructing. Let us help you ensure that you respond truthfully, accurately, and consistently with your documentation.
Adjudication Procedures for Falsification Charges
Your state nursing practice act must provide you with fair notice of the charges and a fair hearing to satisfy your constitutional due process right to protect your nursing license and career. Texas Nurse Practice Act Section 301.511 is an example of incorporating the state's Administrative Procedure Act protections for contested agency cases into Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary actions. You will have a similar right to a hearing at which we can present your defense evidence and challenge the state nursing board's incriminating evidence. If you have already lost your hearing, your state protections likely provide an appeal that we can take on your behalf, using our skills and experience to make a stronger presentation of your defense, seeking to overturn your disciplinary sanction.
Qualifications of License Defense Counsel
Do not retain an unqualified local transactional attorney, civil litigator, or criminal defense attorney to defend your state nursing board disciplinary charges for falsifying patient medical records. Administrative license defense is a peculiar practice niche with laws, rules, and procedures different from transactional and litigation work. Our attorneys know the applicable law, rules, and procedures and have the reputation and relationships among state nursing board officials to gain the best possible disciplinary defense outcome.
Premier License Defense Attorneys Available
If you face state nursing board disciplinary charges alleging that you falsified patient records, call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now to retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best disciplinary defense. Our skilled and experienced attorneys have helped hundreds of nurses and other healthcare professionals successfully defend disciplinary proceedings nationwide.
