Moderate

A registered nurse in the United States receives a subpoena requesting a patient's complete medical record. What should the nurse do?

Correct answer: C. Forward the subpoena to the health information department

  • A. Send the record directly to the requesting attorney
  • B. Give the record to the patient for personal delivery
  • C. Forward the subpoena to the health information department
  • D. Ignore the subpoena because records are confidential

Explanation

The nurse should promptly refer the subpoena to the health information or legal department. A subpoena does not mean the bedside nurse should independently release records, and HIPAA permits disclosure only through the facility's authorized process.

Submitted by a TestUstad contributor and published by the TestUstad editorial teamLast updated
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About US Legal and Ethical Nursing Practice

US nursing law and ethics include state nurse practice acts, scope of practice, standards of care, negligence, malpractice, documentation, confidentiality under HIPAA and informed consent. Ethical reasoning applies autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice and fidelity to conflicts such as refusal of treatment, advance directives, privacy breaches and mandatory reporting, which are not the same as legal liability.

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