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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal officials say a Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System pulmonologist who wrote inaccurate patient records continued doing so after being caught and faced little disciplinary action.
The Montgomery Advertiser Reported Sunday that (http://on.mgmadv.com/1joKs5P ) Carolyn Lerner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said problems at the veterans' health center are linked to a lack of accountability.
Investigators say the pulmonologist copy and pasted old patient data collected by other doctors into new records for the same patients. The information included the patient's main complaint, vital signs and diagnoses.
Investigators say the pulmonologist, whose identity hasn't been released, was put on a 90-day evaluation period, continued copy and pasting old patient information and was given a satisfactory review afterward.
Lerner says a surgeon first reported the issue in late 2012.
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Information from: Montgomery Advertiser, http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
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