It is the patient’s right to demand that all information and records pertaining to his care be treated as confidential. Nurses and physicians, on the other hand, have the obligation to treat each patient’s information with utmost confidentiality. When the board summons you for confidentiality cases, you need the help of an expert nurse attorney to defend your case.
At the time of the initial incident, she was employed as an RN at a medical facility in Denton, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) years and four (4) months.
On or about August 21, 2020, through August 23, 2020, while employed as an RN at a medical facility in Denton, Texas, RN inappropriately accessed the electronic medical records of multiple patients by using the login credentials of a pulmonology physician and assisted the provider with rounds by reviewing test results and entering verbal physician’s orders for the patients, while on the phone with the provider. RN’s conduct was in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In response, RN states she was hired to work as a scribe on her days off in the ICU by a pulmonologist at the facility. RN states the provider informed her that she had approval from administration to hire a nurse at the facility to assist her with rounds since the pulmonologist census was extremely high due to the influx of COVID patients. RN states the provider would log into the computer system and dictate her assessments through her phone and it would sync to the patient’s chart as they rounded. RN states the provider had an app on her phone, that the computer system was compatible with, that allowed her to do this. RN states she would pull up the correct screen and then hit save when the provider was done. RN admits she entered orders on patients that were given by the provider as she was assessing the patients or moving from one patient to another. RN states that she was later informed that the provider was not given final approval from administration.
The above action constitutes grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B)&(1)(E) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A), (1)(B)&(4).
Unfortunately, the Texas Board of Nursing found her guilty of her deeds. Her RN license was subjected to disciplinary action. She did not hire a skilled Texas BON attorney to fully defend her case which led to this decision by the Texas Board of Nursing.
Make sure that you will not make the same mistake as the RN mentioned above in her case before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). Contact a Texas nurse attorney today who can provide you with a confidential consultation and evaluate your case and counsel you on the best steps to take. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for 16 years and represented over 300 nurses before the Texas BON. Contact Mr. An by calling or texting him 24/7 directly at (832) 428-5679.