EEG Patient Safety and Ethics 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient with a known latex allergy is scheduled for a routine EEG. Which action is most appropriate?
- Proceed normally since EEG electrodes do not contain latex
- Use latex-free electrodes and collodion, and notify the entire team of the allergy (Correct answer)
- Cancel the EEG and reschedule after allergy testing
- Apply standard electrodes but monitor closely for skin reactions
Correct answer: Use latex-free electrodes and collodion, and notify the entire team of the allergy
Latex-free supplies must be used and all staff alerted, as some electrode caps, adhesives, and tubing may contain latex.
Question 2: During an ambulatory EEG, a patient calls to report they removed the electrodes themselves because of discomfort. What is the technologist's primary ethical obligation?
- Document the incident and attempt to retrieve the equipment
- Respect patient autonomy, document the removal, and notify the ordering physician (Correct answer)
- Report the patient to the billing department for equipment misuse
- Immediately dispatch a technologist to reapply electrodes without discussing with the patient
Correct answer: Respect patient autonomy, document the removal, and notify the ordering physician
Patients have the right to discontinue testing; the technologist must respect autonomy, document thoroughly, and inform the physician.
Question 3: A technologist notices a patient's oxygen saturation dropping to 88% during a sleep-deprived EEG. What is the correct response?
- Continue the study to obtain a full baseline
- Pause the recording, stimulate the patient, apply supplemental oxygen if available, and notify the supervising physician (Correct answer)
- Note the saturation in the record and continue without interruption
- Immediately terminate the EEG and discharge the patient
Correct answer: Pause the recording, stimulate the patient, apply supplemental oxygen if available, and notify the supervising physician
Desaturation below 90% is a clinical emergency requiring immediate intervention and physician notification, even if it interrupts the study.
Question 4: Which principle of biomedical ethics requires the EEG technologist to provide adequate information before obtaining consent for photic stimulation?
- Justice
- Non-maleficence
- Autonomy (Correct answer)
- Beneficence
Correct answer: Autonomy
Autonomy requires that patients receive sufficient information to make an informed decision about procedures such as photic stimulation.
Question 5: An EEG technologist discovers that a colleague has been omitting seizure events from written reports to speed up throughput. What is the most appropriate course of action?
- Ignore it since the interpreting physician will catch any errors
- Confront the colleague privately and ask them to stop
- Report the concern through the facility's established chain of command or compliance channel (Correct answer)
- Begin correcting the colleague's reports without disclosure
Correct answer: Report the concern through the facility's established chain of command or compliance channel
Omitting clinical data is an ethical and potentially legal violation requiring formal reporting through proper institutional channels.
Question 6: A parent refuses to sign consent for their 8-year-old child's medically necessary EEG. Which step should the technologist take first?
- Perform the EEG anyway because the child's welfare supersedes parental refusal
- Immediately seek a court order to override the parent
- Notify the ordering physician so that the clinical team can address the refusal and explore alternatives (Correct answer)
- Document the refusal and reschedule without further action
Correct answer: Notify the ordering physician so that the clinical team can address the refusal and explore alternatives
The technologist's role is to document and escalate to the physician, who leads the discussion with the parent and determines next steps.
Question 7: Which practice best protects patient confidentiality when transmitting an EEG recording electronically to an interpreting neurologist at another facility?
- Send via standard email with the patient's name in the subject line for easy identification
- Use a HIPAA-compliant encrypted platform with patient identifiers limited to the minimum necessary (Correct answer)
- Attach the file to a shared public cloud folder for easy access
- Print the record and fax it to the neurologist's personal fax number
Correct answer: Use a HIPAA-compliant encrypted platform with patient identifiers limited to the minimum necessary
HIPAA requires that electronic protected health information be transmitted only through encrypted, secure channels with minimum necessary disclosure.
EEG Patient Safety and Ethics 4
A patient with a known latex allergy is scheduled for a routine EEG.
Which action is most appropriate?