Ethics Case Study

Ethics Case Study

Jessica Montano

Melissa Green

HCS 335

In the medical field there are several different positions that a physician or office manager may trust in order to call in and order or refill prescriptions; these positions vary from front office staff to medical assistants, to LPNs. These roles are given this opportunity to take over this task when these people and proven that they are trust worthy to handle someone’s medication and not abuse the system. However, there are certain situations that arise that one might need to make a judgment call, but it is always important to address the proper channels and problem solve before taking a chance putting yourself and potentially the practice itself at risk.

Jerry’s medical history as a medical assistant and LPN does allow him to call in a refill of a prescription, however since Valium is a controlled substance; Jerry would need the physicians approval in order to ethically refill the prescription. He might feel more at ease taking the risk of refilling a prescription of a low risk medication that is taken every day for something such as low blood pressure medication. With this type of medication it would be easy for Jerry to simply look up the client and the client’s history to verify the usage and dosage and could feel comfortable in refilling the medication. In this scenario, I believe that Jerry would be morally safe in refilling this medication. If for some reason Jerry found himself calling in the patient’s refill for Valium and the patient ended up having a bad reaction to the medication he is not the only one he has put in risk. Under the doctrine of respondent superior the patient legally has every right to sue the practice that Jerry works for. However, Jerry should not consider himself completely safe; the patient could potentially create a lawsuit against him as well, not to mention probable repercussions that he will undergo professionally as well.

If I were in Jerry’s...