...Ethics Case Study Sandra Childers HCS/335 January 16, 2012 Patricia Tobin. PhD, LCSW Ethics Case Study This paper discusses the dilemma of Jerry McCall. Jerry, office assistant of Dr. Williams, is a trained medical assistant and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). While covering the front desk while the receptionist was out to lunch, a patient and friend of Dr. Williams calls requesting a refill order for Valium. The friend is taking a trip by plane and takes the Valium when he flies. There are questions that arise from this scenario. Is Jerry qualified to fulfill this request? If the refill was for a different medication such as blood pressure medication would it make a difference? What are the legal ramifications should there be any harmful reactions? Does the doctrine of respondeat superior protect Jerry from any lawsuits? The answers to these questions are discussed within this paper. As a medical assistant Jerry McCall is trained to perform administrative and medical duties to maintain the smooth operation of the healthcare facility. He reports to the office manager and the physician, as he goes about performing his duties. Medical assistants are not physician’s assistants and do not have the training that a physician’s assistant has to examine, diagnose, and treat patients. As a medical assistant the administrative duties include updating and filing medical records, complete insurance claim forms, set up hospital admissions and lab appointments. When acting...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...Complications for Medical Advice from Office Staff Andrea Sammut University of Phoenix Healthcare Ethics and Social Responsibility: HCS /335 March 28, 2011 Jodie Ausloos Potential Ethical Complications for Medical Advice from Office Staff Jerry is a medical assistant who is also and LPN (licensed practical nurse). Jerry is an employee of Dr. Williams’ a licensed medical doctor. Jerry’s responsibilities include administrative as well as patient-oriented tasks such as taking medical history and vitals. Jerry also shared the administrative during such as answering the phones. In this case study Jerry is alone in the office without the supervision of Dr. Williams. Jerry receives a call from a patient who also claims to be a friend of Dr. Williams requesting a refill on his prescription for Valium, a controlled anti-depressant medication. Jerry must make a decision on how to respond to the patients needs while taking legal and ethical ramifications into consideration. Medical assistant and LPN Qualifications and Responsibilities Jerry is a medical assistant and a licensed practical nurse (LPN.) A LPN is generally a bedside nurse performing duties such as checking vital signs, administering injections, wound care, enemas, and catheters. LPN’s also gather information; update patient files with current conditions as well as medical history. Medical assistants have similar duties and LPN’s. Administrative tasks are often included in the duties many medical assistants which...
Words: 1224 - Pages: 5
...Jerry McCall Ethics Case Study Overview This is an USA pseudo-case diverged from the following Medical and Ethics Textbook case study in Ch. 4 of Medical Law and Ethics that gives insight to medical – ethics and their applications (Fremgen, 2010, p. 85). Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and an 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 and that the provider, a friend, calls in the medication prior to any flights. This type of request happens often and in slightly different scenarios, but the outcome should remain the same to avoid ethical and legal issues. This paper will review the case study to help resolve the problem, the ethics involved, and the medical responsibility to refilling a prescription without provider authorization. Qualified Medical Training Understanding the definitions of a licensed practical nurse, LPN, and a medical assistant, MA is the first step to making a factual conclusion for this case study. Support staff to the provider cannot make decisions about medication refills for patients without a direct order from the provider. This action is outside the scope of practice for an LPN or MA. Licensed Practical Nurse An LPN is a role in support of the nurse or RN, a registered Nurse usually in a skilled nursing setting such as a hospital or long-term care facility...
Words: 1508 - Pages: 7
...Ethics Case Study Name HCS/335 Date Professor Ethics Case Study Today’s healthcare professionals are immersed in an ever-changing environment. The advent of managed care, a variety of medical practice arrangements, and a multitude of healthcare specialty areas have resulted in the continual need to understand healthcare law. Unfortunately, due to the rise of malpractice suits, many physicians are protecting themselves by ordering multiple testing procedures, some of which might not be needed. In addition, many patients no longer want older, more conservative approaches to testing and diagnosis – and these newer tests are more expensive. All healthcare professionals need to pay attention to the wishes of their patients. And in the circumstances where the patients has given family members or others authority to make a healthcare decision on their behalf, healthcare professionals must respect the patient’s wishes. They also should use care not to place their own opinions ahead of the decisions of physicians or other healthcare professionals made in consultation with the patient. As with the case of Jerry McCall, his job is an Office Assistant and Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner's specialty. In small...
Words: 1380 - Pages: 6
...Cruz Case Study University of Phoenix Prof. Keegan Physician’s assistants and medical assistants both perform vital acts in a physician’s office. However, both positions differ significantly in scope of practice, ethical and practical duties, responsibilities, and legally authorized extensions. Physician’s assistant duties, scope of practice and the laws applicable to each of these areas varies from state to state. While physician’s assistants perform their duties under the direct supervision of a licensed physician in any area of primary care including surgical and surgical subspecialties, family practice, obstetrics and gynecology, etc. Nevertheless, physician assistants in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have authorization to prescribe medication (Hooker, 2010). Although this policy evolution occurred over the objections of some physician organizations about expanded prescription authority, the reality is that this change is codified (Hooker, 2010). Because of their intermediary placement within spheres of primary care and medicine itself, physician’s assistants are not immune from ethical dilemmas and/or malpractice, negligence and/or liability (PAC, 2011). Physician’s assistant share many duties, responsibilities as their supervising physician, based upon their training, their experience in the practice, ethical duties given the following case study situation. Although medical assistants perform...
Words: 1169 - Pages: 5
...Bagwell Week 2 HCS 335 Ethics Case Study-Medical Law & Ethics Jerry McCall is Dr. William’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 professional 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. What should he do? First before we get into the matter we need to describe what a medical assistant’s job is and what tasks that they perform. A medical assistant’s roll is to complete the administrative and clinical tasks in the office for physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners to help make their jobs just a little bit easier. The jobs for a medical assistant will vary due to the location of a practice, the specialty of the practice, and size of the practice. A medical assistant’s job is to help a doctor with the administrative part in the office and the clinical duties so that a doctor will be able to see and receive patients a whole lot faster. A medical assistant must have graduated from an accredited program and they also have to pass a national certification exam. Does Jerry’s medical training qualify him to issue this...
Words: 1109 - Pages: 5
...Ethics Case Study Kathy Conway HCS/335 January 0, 2012 James Dockins Ethics Case Study The role of the office medical assistant varies greatly from not only state to state but from office to office as well. Most states however do require some type of formal training and there are different levels of what the assistant is allowed to do depending on the levels of education and certifications. Medical assistants are not the same as physician assistants and so the medical assistant requires a physician to be present when treating a patient. The role of most medical assistants is more of an administrative nature, they work alongside the physician and other staff member doing what is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the practice (London, 2011). There are many things an office assistant can do to assist in the daily operations of a physician’s practice besides answering a telephone. They may help obtain the patients health histories, the reason for that day’s visit, and the taking of vital signs. They are allowed to do so because the physician is right there in the office and not outside the building (London, 2011). Jerry McCall Jerry McCall has a big dilemma because he is the only one in the office at the time a call comes into the office for a last minute refill of a prescription. The dilemma is that the patient needs a prescription of Valium refilled before he heads to the airport and only has a very...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...Table of Context Page 2 Executive Summery Page 3 Problems Page 4 Solutions Page 5-6 Conclusion Page 7 Appendix A Page 8 Executive Summery Dear Dr. Haider, as per your request, I have completed a case study and have come up with the following findings: As it stands right now, the MRI Center at Brenton-Cooper Medical Center (BCMC) in New York is facing a 2-week wait time after only being in business for 6 weeks and Doctors are upset about not being delivered the service they were promised. First, let me start with stating the current situation. There are several issues; with scheduling, patient screening, reminder calls and with MRI downtime while the MR Technologist is busy sorting scans, making runs to the Radiologist and spending time with patient transfers or having to send people away due to medical reasons. Because of these issues, the average scan over the past 6 weeks took 67.8min. Retraining the scheduling staff and implementing a computer booking system will address some issues faced, but it doesn't account for the extra resources needed to eliminate the backlog and doesn't address the issues we'll be facing once the demand for the clinic is growing. My recommendation is, in addition to the training, to also hire an Assistant MR Technician to assist the Technologist. As a result, you'll see an increased scan rate from 67.8min/scan to 30.5min/scan and increase the daily average of 6.6 scans to 14.8 and eliminating the current 2 week wait time...
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...Case Study Andre J. Hopp HCS/335 September 24, 2013 Frieda Taylor Case Study Today’s health care system is larger and busier than ever. Increased demand for services coupled with a limited number of providers, creates unique demands on an already strained system. Medical practices rely heavily on staff members to perform a myriad of function, both clinical and administrative. Occasionally, staff members may be asked by either physician or patients to perform duties that fall outside their scope of practice. Should an unqualified employee choose to operate outside his or her scope of practice, they run the risk of committing both negligent and criminal acts. In the case study of Jerry McCall, an office assistant with limited medical training, one sees a clear case of negligent and criminal conduct. The case study presents a scenario where an office assistant in a private physician’s office is asked by a patient to authorize a prescription for a Schedule III controlled medication. Additional information reveals that he is currently the only person in the office. Although Jerry is a Licensed Practical Nurse and medical assistant, his training does not permit him to prescribe medications of any type. Medications may only by prescribed by licensed providers who hold a valid registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is typically limited to physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. There does however, exist a situation win which it...
Words: 813 - Pages: 4
...Ethics Case Study Kimberly Bellas HCS/335 September 22, 2014 Instructor: Robert Vella Ethics Case Study Based on the scenario given, it is evident that the patient is in desperate need of his medication and needs immediate assistance. Jerry McCall is the office assistant for Dr. William’s office and is obligated to somehow help this patient in the best way possible. Luckily Mr. McCall has had prior professional training as both a Medical Assistant and an LPN. First and foremost we would need to consider whether or not Mr. McCall’s medical licenses are up-to-date. If they are, then there are a few ways in which he can help this patient. If not, he would need to find some medical professional to assist him with this patient’s inquiry. With that taken into account we are assuming that his professional medical licenses are up-to-date and that he will be able to assist this patient as quickly as possible. A medical assistant can have a variety of job responsibilities including administrative duties and clinical duties. Some job responsibilities that a medical assistant may have but are not limited to are: taking medical histories, explaining treatment procedures to patients, instructing patients about medication and special diets, preparing and administering medications as directed by a physician and authorizing prescription refills as directed by a physician ("American Association Of Medical Assistants", 2014). Assuming that Mr. McCall has access to patient’s charts and clinical...
Words: 855 - Pages: 4
...Ethics Case Study Angela Gentile HCS/335 May 21, 2012 Claudia Unrein This paper is on an ethics case study, I will first explain the case study, and address why the person involved is not qualified to refill prescription medication. Also does it matter if the medication is on a daily need bases, and will that person be protected from a lawsuit? All these questions will be answered, so let me give you a little background on the case and some definition that might help you understand the circumstances. “Case Study: 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 the 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 (2009) pg.85. Definitions: “CMA, certified medical assistant, duties are grouped into two categories: administrative and clinical. Work in a variety of healthcare settings including physician’s offices, and clinics. Must graduate from an accredited program and pass a national certification exam. “LPN, licensed practical nurse, performs some of the same, but not all, tasks as the registered nurse. Must graduate...
Words: 802 - Pages: 4
...3 Describe problem-solving methodologies. Readings Read Ch. 1 of Health Care Ethics. Read Ch. 1 & 2 of Medical Law and Ethics. Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week One Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 4/10/2014 1 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. 4/10/2014 1 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Ethics Case Study Begin working on the Ethics Case Study due in Week Two. Learning Team Instructions Begin working on the Code of Ethics Paper due in Week Three. Review the Week One objectives and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen Individual Health Care Ethics Matching Exercise Complete the Health Care Ethics Matching Exercise, located on your student website. Match keywords commonly used in health care ethics to the definitions on the page. Discuss the exercise in class and turn in your answer sheet to your facilitator. 4/10/2014 15 Week Two: Application of Ethics Within Individual Organizations Details Due Points Objectives 2.1 Describe ethical principles used in health care organizations. 2.2 Explain the relationship between an organization’s culture and ethical decision-making. 2.3 Recognize the role and importance of ethical values within an organization. Readings Read Ch. 3 & 5 of Health Care Ethics. Read Ch. 8 of Medical Law and Ethics. Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Two Read Me First. Participation...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
...CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW What Is Office Administration? An office administrator oversees day-to-day office operations. Office administration is the process of overseeing the day-to-day operations of an office. The task of administration is usually the responsibility of an office administrator or manager. Depending on the general operating structure of the organization, and the complexity of tasks associated with the operation in general, the responsibilities of the manager or administrator may focus on a few core tasks, or involve the management of a wide range of functions. One of the core tasks associated with office administration is the management of the employees associated with the office. Typically, office administrators are responsible for supervising the office staff, making sure that each employee has resources necessary to competently carry out his or her assigned duties. Administrators also function as troubleshooters, providing support and assistance to employees when unusual situations arise during the completion of an assigned task. It is not unusual for administrators to be responsible for conducting periodic employee evaluations, recommending pay increases, or providing employees with remedial or cross training as a means of assisting those employees to improve their relationships with the employer. Along with managing and supporting employees, office administration also involves making sure that the office always has the resources needed to remain...
Words: 2784 - Pages: 12
...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...
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...Running Head: Ethics Case Study Ethics Case Study Keisha Black HCS/335 August 29, 2011 Robert King Abstract * The purpose of this paper is to review a case study and give an opinion on whether Jerry the doctor's assistance is using ethical and legal measures in his job. The paper will also review the decisions that Jerry might have made and major issues that may affect that decision. The paper will also give information on the malpractice lawsuit jerry might face and the readers advice to him, and what problem-solving methods might be helpful to assist in making an ethical decision. In the case study we will be reviewing Jerry McCall, Dr. William's office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN and he is responsible for handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. Jerry is now alone in the office and a patient calls and requested that 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. The patient said Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. Health care practitioners and organizations are faced with many ethical challenges daily, It is up to them to make a legal decision to protect themselves and employers in these situation. In this scenario Jerry' medical training does not qualify him to issue the refill order...
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
