Copying Med Recs Q - esp for Faculty & School Staff

[Guest guest]

Has anyone found a pen, probably similar to a Sharpie that will really, truly,

completely, obliterate the patient's name on copies of chart notes?

 

I've consistently found that with standard Sharpies, used over the patient's

identifying data, the name and date of birth can easily be read. In fact, the

drier the pen, the easier the info underneath is to read. Upon recopying,

though, the data is no longer readable.

 

When I lived and practiced in Seattle, I was Medical Records Coordinator at

Bastyr. At that time, we let students make their own copies for case reviews.

Now I am Med Recs Coordinator at NCNM's combined clinic. Of course, now staff

make the copies, not the students.

 

I consulted the med recs person at another school. They think going over the

copy w/ a Sharpie is sufficient b/c the intent to protect the patient's identity

is present and acted upon. However, having studied some basic law and healthcare

law, I know this about tort law: if you have a construction site and put a fence

around a small sinkhole, and a child climbs over what should be a sufficient

fence and drowns, it's still your liability. (That's a real legal case.) That

doesn't mean it's your fault, but you're still liable. In other words, if your

measures aren't sufficient to follow the law, the proper intent isn't enough and

it won't save your butt in court - or your license.

 

The best solution I've found to date is to copy a chart, black out the name/DOB

with the Sharpie and re-copy. This works, but it uses a lot of paper. I would

love to find a solution that only requires copying the information once, saving

time and tress.

[Guest guest]

Why not use a white-out correction tapes to completely cover the name?

 

Michael W. Bowser, DC, LAc

 

 

 

Chinese Medicine

lynndetamore

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:32:25 +0000

Copying Med Recs Q - esp for Faculty & School Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has anyone found a pen, probably similar to a Sharpie that will really,

truly, completely, obliterate the patient's name on copies of chart notes?

 

 

 

I've consistently found that with standard Sharpies, used over the patient's

identifying data, the name and date of birth can easily be read. In fact, the

drier the pen, the easier the info underneath is to read. Upon recopying,

though, the data is no longer readable.

 

 

 

When I lived and practiced in Seattle, I was Medical Records Coordinator at

Bastyr. At that time, we let students make their own copies for case reviews.

Now I am Med Recs Coordinator at NCNM's combined clinic. Of course, now staff

make the copies, not the students.

 

 

 

I consulted the med recs person at another school. They think going over the

copy w/ a Sharpie is sufficient b/c the intent to protect the patient's identity

is present and acted upon. However, having studied some basic law and healthcare

law, I know this about tort law: if you have a construction site and put a fence

around a small sinkhole, and a child climbs over what should be a sufficient

fence and drowns, it's still your liability. (That's a real legal case.) That

doesn't mean it's your fault, but you're still liable. In other words, if your

measures aren't sufficient to follow the law, the proper intent isn't enough and

it won't save your butt in court - or your license.

 

 

 

The best solution I've found to date is to copy a chart, black out the name/DOB

with the Sharpie and re-copy. This works, but it uses a lot of paper. I would

love to find a solution that only requires copying the information once, saving

time and tress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn, don't black out the name at all. White-ing it out, with those newer

roll-out strips would be easiest, but then there's the chance that it can be

scraped off. What I would suggest for total security is cutting out standard

size paper strips for the fields you usually black out, attach with a tiny bit

of sticky-tack and photocopy, tada, completely unreadable personal information,

and everything is re-useable.

 

Hugo

 

 

________________________________

Hugo Ramiro

http://middlemedicine.wordpress.com

http://www.middlemedicine.org

 

 

 

The best solution I've found to date is to copy a chart, black out the name/DOB

with the Sharpie and re-copy. This works, but it uses a lot of paper. I would

love to find a solution that only requires copying the information once, saving

time and tress.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the replies. B4 I arrived, they tried covering the data w/ cut-up

sticky notes and they actually experimented w/ using an Exacto knife to cut the

identifying data off after copying.

 

I love the correction tapes, but that can be scraped off, it's often true. The

fields of information are standard at the top of each chart page, but the name

is sometimes sprinkled throughout the charting. Putting on stickies or other

paper to block those areas is fine for small quantities of copying, but I'm

looking at a clinic where there are several students per shift and they each

have 2 case reviews to do. So I want to balance resource consumption, but just

as much I want to conserve time.

 

For now, we're making copies, using a Sharpies and recopying.

 

Thanks for the ideas!

 

Lynn

 

 

Chinese Medicine , Hugo Ramiro <subincor

wrote:

>

> Hi Lynn, don't black out the name at all. White-ing it out, with those newer

roll-out strips would be easiest, but then there's the chance that it can be

scraped off. What I would suggest for total security is cutting out standard

size paper strips for the fields you usually black out, attach with a tiny bit

of sticky-tack and photocopy, tada, completely unreadable personal information,

and everything is re-useable.

>

> Hugo