Falsifying documents is considered a criminal offense which 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. However, if an RN is accused of doing such a crime, a nurse attorney is crucially needed.
At the time of the initial incident, she was employed as an RN at a medical facility in Richardson, Texas, and had been in that position for approximately five (5) years.
On or about February 22, 2020 through March 25, 2020, while employed as an RN at a medical facility in Richardson, Texas, and assigned to provide nursing care for a patient, RN falsified nursing documentation in that she was charting from her own home and was not physically with the patient. Additionally, RN signed the patient’s mother’s name on the nursing notes and had not been in the patient’s home since March 1, 2020. RN’s conduct created an inaccurate medical record and was likely to deceive other caregivers who needed complete information on which to base their care.
In response, RN states this entire situation started at the beginning of the stay-at-home orders for the COVID 19 pandemic. RN states the coordinators informed her to continue working as normal. According to RN, her hours were 6:30am to 5:30pm Monday – Friday. RN states one of the family members started working from home, so she called the office about the hours. Per RN, she was reassured she would get paid all her hours if she was there for half a day and that it was very important not to go over the family’s given hours. RN states she went in, performed her assessment, and did her duties. She also states the family was in the home the entire time she was there. RN claims she never falsified nursing documentation but did document it as a late entry. RN states on February 23, 2020, she received a phone call telling her she needed to come in the office for coaching on charting. RN states she wishes she had handled it differently.
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)(D) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(B), (1)(C),(6)(A),&(6)(H).
However, without enough evidence to prove she’s not guilty, the RN lost the case. This is the reason why the Texas Board of Nursing placed her RN license under disciplinary action.
If you ever undergo cases such as this, it’s best to seek the assistance of a good nurse attorney as it could make the case better in your favor. Be sure to find a nurse attorney who is experienced and knowledgeable in several nurse cases to ensure the best assistance possible.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed on you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is willing to assist every nurse in need of immediate help for nurse licensing cases. He is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for the past 16 years and represented over 300 nurses before the Texas BON. To contact him, please dial (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation or for more inquiries.