Is this legal?

cookie102 · Mar 13, 2009

I was offered a job in a home health agency but I am having second thoughts about accepting the offer because I found out that I will be the only RN in the office, the field nurses are licensed RNs and LVNs but the rest of the office employees are not licensed practitioners. The field nurses will be reporting to the office regarding the patients and the office employees will be calling doctors for orders. Since I am the only RN in the office, I will be signing all the doctor's orders even if I wasn't the one who took the orders myself. Isn't this illegal?

i know i couldn't sign a doctors order that i didn't write,!! i imagine MD offices have med-tech that do this often, but i have never heard of it in HH, whether or not it is legal, i don't know, but i know i would not be able to do it.

best wishes

caliotter3 · Mar 13, 2009

I am not aware of this procedure in any of my agencies. Faxed or copied orders have always had the RNs writing and signature on them. Either change this practice or don't take the job. That would be my advice.

CMH66 · Mar 13, 2009

I wouldn't dream of signing an order that I did not take regardless of the setting, home health, hospital or other type of health care facility. If that order was misunderstood and there is any type of adverse event because of that error you would be the one responsible. Sounds like a bad way to do things, if for some reason a secretary takes an order as part of a message because I am away from desk or on another line I always call physician office back and verifty before I write the order.

chatal · Mar 13, 2009

Thanks for replying. It was just a little hard to turn down because the offer was really good but I know it's not worth losing my license over.:idntdt: