Ethics Case Study
Akiem Henry Liburd
December 11,2013
HCS/335
Maureen Lancelot

Ethics Case Study Ethics are an important aspect of an individual life , ethics helps to determine whether their actions are right or wrong, good or bad and fair or unfair ( Fremgen, 2009, pg). Jerry Mc Call is Dr. William’s office assistant and was answering phone calls while the receptionist is at break. A desperate patient called in during this time Jerry received a call from a patient that says he must have prescription refill for valium an antidepressant medication. Jerry has received professional training as both a LPN and a medical assistant. The patient mentioned that he and Dr. Williams are personal friends and he needed the medication right away. This case study will speak about whether Jerry Mc Call has the professional training to qualify him to prescribe the refill, and the legal and ethical issues that might affect Jerry.
Jerry’s medical training does not qualify him to issue this refill order. Only doctors and nurse practitioners are qualified to prescribe medications to patients. This is wrong both legally and ethically because he is not qualified to do this job. There are rules and regulations in the United States that govern this law. The patient is in need of the prescription but that does not give Jerry the authority to refill the prescription. It doesn’t matter whether the prescription is very important to the patient and the patient needs it right away if the person isn’t qualified to prescribe the medication then they cannot do it. If this person prescribe the medication and is not authorized they could be penalized for doing so.
If Jerry issues the refill and the patient has a reaction to the medication while taking the trip Jerry will not be protected from a malpractice lawsuit. The doctrine of respondent superior is a legal doctrine which states that employers are responsible for the actions of employees during their course of employment (Nicolas, 2008). Both Jerry and Dr Williams will be penalized if the patient had a reaction because it would be wrong for Jerry to refill the prescription without being qualified to do so.
My advice to Jerry is that he should tell the patient to call back at a later time when Dr Williams would be available to refill the prescription. My advice to Jerry is to explain to the patient that he is not qualified to write the prescription and collect the patient’s information to pass on to the doctor so that the doctor could take care of the matter. Ensuring that the patients are well taken care of in a professional and ethical manner should be Jerry’s first priority. Jerry could apologize to the patient for the inconvenience.
The major legal and ethical issue that might affect Jerry’s decision is that not filling the