If you file your patient's assessment before completing documentation or make a mistake, what should you do?

The appropriate action to take when you inadvertently file a patient’s assessment before completing the documentation or if a mistake occurs is to copy to New and make necessary changes. This approach allows you to maintain the integrity of the patient’s record while also ensuring that all relevant information is accurately captured.

By copying the existing assessment to a new record, you can easily make the necessary amendments without having to start all over again. This preserves the original assessment while enabling you to correct any errors or omissions, ensuring that patient care is based on up-to-date and precise information. This method also respects the chronological nature of patient documentation and aids in tracking changes over time.

The other options might not fully address the issue at hand. Starting a new patient record can lead to fragmentation of the patient’s information, making it harder to access a comprehensive view of their care. Contacting a supervisor may be appropriate in cases of severe mistakes, but for minor errors that can be rectified quickly, it's generally more efficient to make corrections directly. Filing a report for a documentation error might be excessive for simple mistakes and could disrupt workflow unnecessarily. Thus, copying to New allows for immediate correction and maintains the continuity of care documentation.