Answer :
Final answer:
The patient's visual acuity should be documented as 20/30, being the line they were able to read despite missing a single letter. It is standard to note this slight imperfection, so option B) 20/30 vision would be correct for the provided choices.
Explanation:
When a patient is able to read the 20/30 line on a Snellen chart but misses one letter, the correct documentation by a medical assistant in the patient's medical record should reflect the actual visual acuity demonstrated during the test. In this case, the patient does not have perfect 20/30 vision due to the missed letter; however, their vision is better than the 20/40 line. Therefore, standard practice usually allows for a notation that informs of the slight imperfection, such as 20/30-1, to indicate the patient almost has 20/30 vision but missed one letter. For the purposes of multiple choice, option B) 20/30 vision would be selected to best represent the patient's visual acuity. While there isn't a strict protocol for accounting a single missed letter, most eye care professionals would agree that noting the exact line the patient could read with the number of letters missed provides a more accurate representation of their vision.
Visual acuity testing is a standard procedure in optometry to evaluate how well a person can see. The Suellen chart is a commonly used tool that displays letters of decreasing size, allowing practitioners to determine a person's visual acuity at a standardized distance.
