A nurse is entering information on the patient’s electronic health record (EHR) and is called to assist in an emergency situation with regard to another patient in the labor and birth suite. The nurse rushes to the scene to assist; however, she leaves the chart open on the computer screen. The emergent patient situation is resolved satisfactorily, and the nurse comes back to the computer entry screen to complete charting. At the end of the shift, the nurse manager asks to speak with the nurse and tells her that she is concerned with what happened today on the unit because there was a breach in confidentiality. Which response by the nurse indicates that she understands the nurse manager’s concerns?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is B. The nurse should have logged out of the EHR prior to attending to the emergency. By leaving the EHR open and unattended, the nurse exposed patient information to potential unauthorized access, violating patient confidentiality. Logging out would have prevented this breach.
Choice A is incorrect because the priority in an emergency is to address the immediate patient needs. Choice C is irrelevant to the breach of confidentiality. Choice D, changing the password after the incident, does not address the initial breach and is not a sufficient response to the nurse manager's concerns about maintaining confidentiality.