When filling out a patient care report, you write 18 for respirations and it should have been 16. How should you correct this error?

• A. Erase the Mistake with an Eraser
• B. Write Error in the Margin and Continue
• C. Draw a Single Line Through the Error and Initial It
• D. Start a New Report

Answer: (C)

Maintaining an accurate, verifiable record means letting the original entry stay visible while showing what was corrected. When you find an incorrect value, you put a single line through the wrong number so the original entry remains legible, then write the correct value nearby and initial (with date/time). This keeps the document’s history intact and provides an auditable trail of the correction.

Erasing the entry or scribbling in the margin doesn’t preserve the original data or create a clear, accountable record. Starting a new report would sever the link to the care you provided and lose important context.