In the case where a patient declines to respond about ethnicity and race, what should be recorded for A1005 and A1010 if a family member provides the answers?

When a patient declines to respond regarding their ethnicity and race, the appropriate action is to record the patient's direct response to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the data. In this scenario, if the patient has explicitly declined to share their ethnicity or race information, this should be documented as such.

Therefore, in the specific coding for A1005 and A1010, the codes should reflect the patient's choice to not disclose that information. A1005 would be marked with “Y” to indicate that the patient declines to respond regarding their ethnicity, and A1010 would also be marked with “Y” for the same reason concerning race.

This approach respects the patient's autonomy and their right to withhold personal information. Using evidence provided by family members instead of the patient’s own response could pose issues related to accuracy and privacy, which is why it is crucial to simply record the patient’s decision to decline.