“Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s 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” (Fremgen, Chapter 4, 2009). A prescription can be prepared by a nurse, secretary, or any other agent in the office for the physician’s signature but cannot be called in or dispensed by no one other than the physician. There are certain rules and regulations that control issues like the one Jerry is faced with. The United States along with each state individual have set for rules and regulations for situations as this. By not following the guidelines it could cause many risks and it also goes against the code of ethics. There are code of ethics set forth not only for doctors but also nurses, physician assistants, and even medical assistants.

If I were Jerry I would tell the patient that legally I cannot call in any prescriptions or medications without the authority of Dr. Williams. Calling in the prescription would put me at great risk for many legally issues because I do not have the permission of the physician to call in the valium for you nor am I qualified to do so. There are also some safety issues that I am concerned about without consulting Dr. Williams first. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but Dr. Williams is currently at lunch. I will try to page Dr. Williams to see if I can get permission to call the valium in for you but there are not any guarantees that I can get in reach