Home

Climate Change Project

Table of Contents

Courses

Search


<< >> Up Title Contents

MEDICAL RECORDSGood Records

Ironically, the focus on the medical record as a legal document has reduced both its legal and its medical effectiveness. Medical personnel, constantly told that "the good medical record is the best defense," miss the point that the good medical record is valuable only to the extent that it documents the actual rendering of good medical care. A medical record can be legally disastrous if it demonstrates the incompetence of the underlying medical care. Poor documentation is actually an advantage to an incompetent defendant whose best defense is obfuscation. A poor record may prevent the medical care providers from establishing the good care they gave the patient, but a good record is not a substitute for good care.

The confusion between good medical records and good medical care has helped destroy the usefulness of medical records. Many records administrators believe that the more information in the record, the better the record is. Even if this excess information is accurate and well organized, it dilutes the medically necessary information. Physicians and nurses will have difficulty finding medically necessary information in a timely manner. This leads to substandard medical care and potential medical malpractice litigation. Bigger medical records are not better medical records.



<< >> Up Title Contents

Law and the Physician Homepage
Copyright 1993 - NOT UPDATED

The Climate Change and Public Health Law Site
The Best on the WWW Since 1995!
Copyright as to non-public domain materials
See DR-KATE.COM for home hurricane and disaster preparation
See WWW.EPR-ART.COM for photography of southern Louisiana and Hurricane Katrina
Professor Edward P. Richards, III, JD, MPH - Webmaster

Provide Website Feedback - https://www.lsu.edu/feedback
Privacy Statement - https://www.lsu.edu/privacy
Accessibility Statement - https://www.lsu.edu/accessibility