A patient was seen in your office about 4 years ago. At that time, the dentist thought it was not necessary to enter in detail the treatment that was done for the patient because the record space was limited. Thus, the only data entered were the tooth number and type of restoration (i.e., #18 amalgam). Later, when insurance companies challenged his claim forms, he altered the method of his entries. In addition, it was noted on the patient record that no radiographs had been taken in the past 3 years yet several restorations have been completed.
What are the issues with this scenario? In addition to the dentist, who else could be held liable for this patient?
