Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumConfidentiality and Information Security

While documenting care on a computer on wheels in the hallway, a practical nurse is approached by a physician who asks to quickly check the morning laboratory results for a different client. The physician explains that their tablet has lost power and they need the results immediately to adjust a medication dosage. Which action should the nurse take?

  1. Log out of the electronic health record system so the physician can sign in with their own access credentials.Answer
  2. B
    Access the requested client's chart and turn the screen toward the physician to facilitate rapid medication adjustment.
  3. C
    Verbally read the requested laboratory results to the physician in the hallway to save time.
  4. D
    Ask the physician for their username and password to log them into the system on their behalf.

Answer

The nurse should log out of the electronic health record system so the physician can sign in with their own access credentials.
Logging out of the electronic health record (EHR) system ensures that the physician must log in with their own unique credentials. This maintains information security by creating an accurate audit trail of which specific individual accessed the client's protected health information. Nurses must never allow others to use their active login sessions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the physician's request in the context of the clinical environment.
The physician is requesting to view another client's laboratory results using the nurse's current, active computer session in a public hallway.
Identifying the setting and the nature of the request highlights potential information security and confidentiality risks.
2
Evaluate electronic health record (EHR) security principles.
Every healthcare provider must access the EHR using their own unique credentials to maintain an accurate audit trail of who viewed or modified a client's record.
Understanding legal and ethical requirements for electronic documentation is necessary to determine the correct action.
3
Select the appropriate nursing action.
Logging out allows the physician to log in securely with their own credentials, satisfying both the physician's need for the data and the facility's security policies.
This resolves the situation while strictly adhering to confidentiality and information security protocols.

Key Concept

Electronic Health Record (EHR) Security and Audit Trails
Rate this question

Topics

Confidentiality and Information Security

More questions from this topic