Ethics Study Case
Victoria Wilder
HCS/335
November 21, 2011
Rhonda Dempsey

Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’ office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. Jerry is faced with a dilemma that is common but illegal in the field of healthcare. Jerry does have professional training as a medical assistant and an LPN, but there are four different kinds of medical assistants.
Clerical, administrative, clinical, and specialized medical assistants and depending on which one Jerry has training in, there is one that will qualify him to call in medical prescriptions. Clinical medical assistants can call in prescriptions to pharmacies but it depends on the specific laws of the state, but even though Jerry has received training, he is still the office assistant. The patient that has called in is a personal friend of Dr. Williams and needs Valium before he takes a flight in thirty minutes. Valium is an addictive drug and can sometimes be used as a recreational drug than what it is needed for. As far as Jerry knows, it will be used to treat anxiety, and then it could be used for recreational purposes. Therefore, Jerry knows that he is not qualified to call in prescriptions for Dr. Williams’ friend or anyone else. The only thing Jerry can tell the patient is when another appointment can be scheduled.
Whether, if it was for high blood pressure or any other prescription, Jerry does not have the qualifications to call in prescriptions. He can give the advice to go to the nearest hospital’s emergency room or if they can wait, make an appointment to see Dr. Williams. There are ethical laws when working in healthcare and when those laws are broken, there can be serious consequences that may follow such a bad decision made by Jerry. The patient could have an adverse reaction to a drug, leading to serious complications or even death, then the Dr. Williams’ office will be faced with a law suit and Dr. Williams could lose his or her license to practice medicine. If such actions are taken, Jerry will be protected by the doctrine of respondent superior, because the doctrine of respondent superior is a legal doctrine that holds an employer liable for an employee’s wrongful or negligent act (Segen’s Medical Dictionary, 2011).
My advice to Jerry is to tell the patient to call back and make an appointment to see Dr. Williams or if there is an emergency, go to the nearest emergency room. I would also tell Jerry that he needs to let Dr. Williams know that the patient called and inform him of the already know consequences that the office and himself is facing if he were to get caught calling in prescriptions without seeing the patient first as a personal favor. Let Dr. Williams also know that more than one person need to be in the office at all times and lunch breaks need to be scheduled to keep down confusion or just close the office for lunch that way everyone one could take lunch at the same time.