LNC STAT: Legal Nurse Blog

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According to recent research, there are over 2.5 million U.S. citizens that call nursing homes or a residential care facility homes. Many of the individuals who take shelter in these establishments are unable to care for themselves due to some sort of disease or mental instability. As a result, these individuals are completely dependant on nursing home and resident care facility staff for their general well being. Research by the Atlanta Long Term Care Ombudsman Program found in a survey that 44 percent of the residents in a nursing home or residential care facility were the victim of abuse. The types of abuse that do occur include punching, slapping, kicking, rough handling, and excessive use of physical restraints. Consequently, most reports indicate that nursing home abuse is a growing problem and will only get worse in the future as the Baby Boomers age and are living in these facilities.

There should be strong demand for nurses who have the ability to investigate these heinous acts. Additionally, Legal Nurses who have worked in the nursing home and residential care industry should find an abundance of cases relating to this area. These nurses already have gained some of the knowledge and experience required to identify, investigate and put an end to the abuse. However, before any nurse starts investigating nursing home abuse they should obtain the Certified Legal Nurse Investigation certification. Obtaining the CLNI designation will not only prepare you to investigate nursing home abuse but will also give you valuable credibility with your future clients. The CLNI course will teach you the necessary interviewing and investigative techniques needed to solve these cases.

Certified Legal Nurse Investigator (CLNI certification) Info >>
- May 12-15, 2009: Tampa, FL
- On-Demand Dates Also Available

In today's healthcare environment medical record tampering is a grave problem that is only getting worse. Many healthcare professionals carry out medical record tampering schemes in order to cover up some sort of negligence or mistake. As a result, spoliation of the record will most likely occur making the record useless in a court of law. However, covering up one's negligence is not the only reason why medical record tampering occurs. Medical identity theft and insurance fraud are also core reasons why someone commits record tampering. According to the FTC, medical identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information and uses it to commit health care fraud. Reports indicate that 10 percent of all identity theft victims in 2005 were a result of some sort of medical identity theft and this number continues to grow annually. For medical identity theft to happen some sort of medical record tampering must occur. Once the offender has acquired a patient's medical identity, that offender can then submit false insurance claims or receive medical care under the victim's identity. Consequently, medical record tampering that leads to identity theft can create serious healthcare implications for the patient victim. Some of these implications include having the offender's blood type or test results in your record. Additionally, it is very difficult for the patient to delete the offender's medical information from their own medical record due to HIPAA regulations. Some hospitals may be fearful of deleting such information as a result of the civil and criminal fines associated with such actions under HIPAA.

For more info about learning how to detect tampering in medical records, read about the Certified Legal Nurse Investigator (CLNI) Certification.

Certified Legal Nurse Investigator Info >>

Over 6,000 nurses are disciplined a year in the United States according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Disciplinary actions available to each state’s nursing board include fines, suspensions, and license revocation. According to some state boards, nurses have a greater chance of being disciplined than physicians. In a New York study, nurses who had a criminal conviction, tampered with medical records, committed documentation errors, or committed medication errors had the highest rates of discipline. More nurses were sanctioned as a result of their conduct while a smaller population was found to not have committed any professional errors. Furthermore, even though the number of nurses disciplined annually is low compared to the total number of licensed nurses, the disciplinary rates are steadily increasing. Some of the disciplinary rate increases might be attributed to the nursing shortage or the hospital administration’s reluctance to raise pay and work environment standards.

Whatever the case, each theory can lead to staffing shortages and overworked nurses. Any nurse that has a complaint filed against them should make sure that their legal counsel is being assisted by an Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant. RN Market trained ALNC’s are qualified to assist attorneys in any state board of nursing inquiry. The ALNC is provided advanced training in the nursing Standards of Care, medical record and documentation protocols, and medication principals. ALNCs are experts in identifying adherences to, and deviations from, the Standards of Care. For cases that might require more investigative work or are more serious in nature, a Certified Legal Nurse Investigator might be necessary. CLNIs have acquired the advanced investigative and interviewing techniques needed to take on the most difficult state board of nursing disciplinary actions. The CLNI also has the ability to go beyond the paper chase and investigate cases involving electronic documentation.


LNC STAT: Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant Live Seminar
Tampa, FL June 8-12, 2009

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Available on DVD, Online or iPod

Certified Legal Nurse Investigator
Tampa, FL: May 12-15, 2009