Proponents fear subpoenas may discourage voluntary reporting
Proponents fear subpoenas may discourage voluntary reporting
Reporting laws should allow medical records to be used as evidence of level exceeding legal limit
There's one aspect of reporting laws that no ED nurse welcomes: getting a subpoena to testify in court. "Emergency nurses are being pulled into court just to testify that they are an RN and that they drew the blood alcohol level using Betadyne, not alcohol, even though there has been clear documentation in the records," reports Carol Bonnono, RN, CEN, an ED nurse at Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland.
Since appearing in court is extremely inconvenient for ED nurses, it could result in reluctance to report blood alcohol levels, Bonnono notes. "It's infuriating for a nurse who works long shifts to get hauled into court on his or her day off," she says. Legislation should be worded so that alcohol levels stand up in court so nurses won't be called in to testify, she urges.
In Illinois, the law allows law enforcement officers to obtain a blood alcohol level directly from the medical record. "They can use that number and it will stand up in court," says Susan Nedza , MD, FACEP. "They don't need us to report the blood alcohol levels, and they do have a way to obtain those numbers that we've drawn."
In some jurisdictions, law enforcement officers have a legal blood technician draw the blood, which protects the ED nurse. "When police lab techs are drawing the blood, it leaves the nurse out of the loop so we're not called to testify," says Christine Dimitrakopolous, MS, RN, president of the California Emergency Nurses Association and ethics consultant for the Emergency Nurses Association.
Clear, detailed documentation can protect you in most cases, says Dimitrakopolous. "Still, you can't anticipate all the questions they might ask, such as what the demeanor of the patient was, or did they act drunk?" she notes. "But if your documentation is extremely detailed, including what was used to cleanse the skin, it's less likely they will call you to testify."
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