The physician orders 350,000 units of Penicillin G IM now for a patient with a positive strep infection.

What is the most appropriate diluent amount for this patient? See LABEL #1 (Penicillin G)

Choice A rationale

Sharing information only with family members violates confidentiality unless the patient has provided explicit consent. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects patient health information from unauthorized disclosure, even to family, without patient permission.

Choice B rationale

Adherence to confidentiality principles mandates that healthcare professionals access patient medical records only when there is a legitimate clinical reason related to the provision of care for that specific patient. Accessing records out of curiosity or without a direct care responsibility is a breach of confidentiality.

Choice C rationale

Providing information only to another nurse is too restrictive. Confidentiality allows for the sharing of necessary patient information with all members of the healthcare team directly involved in the patient's care, not just nurses.

Choice D rationale

Providing information only to an attorney is incorrect. While patient records may be disclosed to attorneys in specific legal situations with proper authorization (e.g., subpoena, patient consent), healthcare professionals can also share information with other authorized individuals involved in the patient's care.

Choice A rationale

Using correction tape is inappropriate as it obscures the original entry, violating the principle of maintaining a clear and accurate audit trail. This makes it impossible to determine what the original error was and who made it, which is crucial for accountability and legal purposes in healthcare documentation.

Choice B rationale

Shredding the original forms and rewriting them is unacceptable because it completely eliminates the original record. This action could be interpreted as an attempt to conceal errors or misrepresent information, which carries significant legal and ethical implications in patient care documentation.

Choice C rationale

Blacking out the error with a thick marker obscures the original information, making it impossible to review the mistake and understand the context. This method does not allow for verification of the initial entry or tracking of the correction process, which is essential for maintaining accurate medical records.

Choice D rationale

Drawing a single line through the incorrect information, making the correction clearly beside it, and then initialing and dating the change maintains the integrity of the original record while indicating who made the correction and when. This method ensures transparency and accountability in documentation, adhering to legal and professional standards for error correction in medical charts.