Premium Essay

Negligence in Pharmacy Practice

In:

Submitted By lolleylou
Words 1049
Pages 5
Negligence in Pharmacy Practice Negligence, according to Fremgen (2009), occurs when a person either performs or fails to perform an action that a reasonable person would or would not have committed in a similar situation. Most of the time medical professionals will have your best interests at heart, and will do their best to take care of you as much as medically possible. However, there are a few cases where medical professionals make mistakes, and unfortunately the patient has to pay for it. In today’s pharmacies, pharmacists work in a very fast paced, demanding environment, dispensing medications to patients in need. A pharmacist’s most common errors are in three categories: inappropriate dosing, prescribing the wrong medication, and failure to monitor side effects. (“U.s. pharmacist continuing,” 01 1). This paper will address these common errors as well as the methods to prevent these errors.
Inappropriate Dosing Common inappropriate dosing errors include, prescribing medications to patients who are allergic, and prescribing inappropriate dosage forms. (“U.s. pharmacist continuing,” 01 1). Every day, pharmacists count, pour and hand patients their medication, medication that isn’t always right. Medical mistakes, according to Leamy (2009), are the eighth most common cause of death in the United States—ahead of car crashes, breast cancer and AIDS. (Leamy, 2009). Also, if the medication isn’t right, this could lead to the wrong informational forms to be given to the patient that alerts them to certain risks of the medication, resulting in possibly harming them. Inappropriate dosing errors are common; however, there are ways to prevent these errors.
Methods to Prevent Inappropriate Dosing Errors According to Leamy (2009), there are some things that you can do to prevent medication mistakes. They are: * Know the size, shape, color and strength of any

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Medication Errors

...an infant in the NICU after an antibiotic overdose was prepared by the pharmacy I conclude that this is a case of negligence and therefore the hospital will be held liable. First, a duty to care was established because the patient was under the care of the hospital and the hospital had a duty to help and not further harm the patient. That duty to care was also breached because the infant’s death was due to the incorrect IV antibiotic dose being administered therefore resulting in death. Second, the employees of the pharmacy deviated from the common practice of the members of the pharmacy and the profession, resulting in injury. Third, the IV antibiotic was filled at the pharmacy and administered in the NICU resulting in death due to an overdose. This connection between the pharmacist negligent conduct and resulting damages suffered by the infant clearly shows that there was causation. In addition foreseeability does apply in this case because all of the elements of negligence were established and because all of the elements of negligence were established and because the pharmacist admitted that he thought that the medication may have been wrong but did not have a chance to check it therefore he should have foreseen that injury to the infant would occur. I have some recommendations for avoiding this type of situation from occurring again in the future. Improving the policies and procedures of the pharmacy by 1) making sure that anyone taking medication from the outbox double check...

Words: 308 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Professional Regulation and Criminal Liability

...body of knowledge and skills. It is a vocation in which the practice of an art is used in the services of others” (Schmitz & Martin, 2008, p. 1). Belonging to a certain profession requires one to agree to demonstrate integrity, selflessness, competency as well as morality. This becomes the foundation on which the medical profession gets autonomy of practice from the society and a chance to experience self-regulation. Pharmacy is one of the medical professions whose practitioners help people to utilize medications to the best. It is notable that since professionals own specialized knowledge which the client does not have, the possibility of the professional exploiting the client exists. It is however important to note that such exploitation leads to very severe consequences since it has violated the guiding regulations for pharmacists. While executing the duties of a pharmacist, it is possible to make mistakes that have serious consequences. There are a number of ways in which professional misconduct among pharmacists can be handled. The Board of Pharmacy may take action against the pharmacists where a hearing is made before any disciplinary action is taken. The violation of regulations may also be presented before a civil court or before a criminal court. In case of a compliant being presented before a Board of Pharmacy, the complaint is usually presented by the customer before the Board prompting the Board of Pharmacy to launch investigations. The findings of the investigation...

Words: 1740 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Case Study

...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 complementary as administrative and clinical tasks to keep...

Words: 1169 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Oxycontin V. Children Case Study

...Price sought OxyContin prescriptions from at least 10 dissimilar doctors from 10 different clinics in two cities, packing prescriptions at seven pharmacies in three cities. The practice was notified of Price’s demeanor so the doctors part Price’s management. Price then thread pursuit, maintain his practice, pharmacies, and the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured OxyContin had infringement their respect by imperfection to adequately admonishing him of the addictive quality of OxyContin. Under neglect legal action the medical/distributor/druggist does have a payment of regard long of elegant awareness and the tip from the manufacturer, he is in the condition to finish whether a critical medicate is proper for a composed or not. However, the justice also quality that it is the irresponsibleness of the crew to seek of the worth of a medicate to judgment an illegal drug and offer token that it is unhurt and efficient. In the US the FDA demonstrate/condemn the medicate...

Words: 934 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ethics Case Study

...call from one of Dr. William’s patients while he is covering the telephones for the receptionist. The patient requests a refill for his Valium prescription because he is in the airport waiting for a flight. He is a personal friend of Dr. Williams and tells Jerry he always calls in a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. Jerry is alone in the office at the time of the call (Fremgen, 2009). What can Jerry do? Scope of Practice Although Jerry works as an office assistant, he is also trained as a medical assistant (MA) and a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), neither of these positions allow him to issue a refill order for any medication, especially a Level IV controlled substance. In their scope of practice medical assistants are not allowed to independently prescribe medications, give out medication samples, or refill prescription requests except under the direct supervision and order of a physician (Buppert, 2008). Licensed Practical Nurses may not call a prescription, including a prescription to refill or extend a prescription, to a pharmacy that has not originated with an authorized prescriber for a specific patient or client. Renewing, refilling, or extending a prescription is considered originating a prescription (Nurses and Prescribing, 2010). Dr. William’s patient also takes high blood pressure medication that he needs daily to keep his blood pressure within normal limits. Jerry would run into the same ethical dilemma he did with the...

Words: 866 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Target Financial Analysis

...Taylor Johnson Financial Management 2201 Company Analysis Paper June 22, 2015 Target Corporation is the second-largest discount retailer in the world, trading the company’s stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol ‘TGT’. Target sells general merchandise ranging including clothing, home goods, beauty products, electronics, and both perishable and non-perishable food items. Most Target stores also include pharmacies, gift registries, and food services such as Pizza Hut and Starbucks.  While classified as a discount store, the company is colloquially known as a superstore where you can buy everything you need in one convenient place. Target’s biggest competitors are Wal-Mart, Meijer, and Kmart. Demand for Target’s products and services is growing rapidly, with Target creating new store formats, such as City Target (coming to Boston in 2015) and Target Express to meet the needs of customers in various markets. With instant-gratification being a common customer expectation, Target Express, 1/6th of the size of a normal store, allows the company a competitive edge over retailers such as Walgreens and CVS.  In a cost-conscious economy, consumers understand that Target offers goods such as electronics and groceries at lower prices than other retailers in each respective industry do. City Target, on the other hand, operates as a store with less-bulky items that would not easily fit in to a small apartment. With customers demanding easy accessibility...

Words: 2287 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Ethics Case Study Hcs/335

... 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. What should he do" (Fremgen, 2009, p. 85)? Medical ethics is a subject open to much interpretation and is prone to many grey area's without definite answers. In the case of Jerry McCall, Medical Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse and Office Assistant the rationale, ethical and legal, for not refilling a prescription without physician consent are justified. If Mr. McCall chooses to refill the unauthorized prescription and the patient has an adverse reaction, his employer, Dr. William's can be held legally responsible for the committed tort even though he is personally without fault (Regan & Regan, 2002). Ethical and legal ramifications are at stake; using effective problem-solving methods to assist with decision making can help to avert a problematic outcome. Qualifications Required for Authorizing Prescriptions The duties that Licensed Practical Nurses can legally perform are mandated by state regulation and differ according to the individual states definition of their scope of practice (National Council for the State Boards of Nursing, 2011). Although this scenario does not list the state in which Mr. McCall lives it is, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy...

Words: 1250 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Leg500 Assignment 3 - Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Workplace and the World

...Introduction It is the responsibility of companies today to promote responsible business practices at every level of the company. Business should be conducted ethically and honestly. Companies should also foster environments that promote ethical conduct and comply with all requirements of the law that they fall under. This paper will examine the ethical practices of Pharmacies. Stakeholders will be identified, and several scenarios will be evaluated and critiqued. Who are the stakeholders of the Pharmacies co? What are their key characteristics? The stakeholders in this scenario include Pharmacies, a successful pharmaceutical company, Comp CARE, a subsidiary of Pharmacies, Well co, a large drugstore chain, the employees of the various companies, the African nation of Colberia and the Colberians. All of these stakeholders have a stake in the outcome. Stakeholders include people living with disease or illness, scientific and clinical experts representing Better Pharmacare Coalition member organizations. ” BC Pharmacies, together with these and other stakeholders as required, should define the process of decision-making from beginning to end” (http://www.betterpharmacare.org/about-corevalues.cfm). Pharmacies stakeholders include patients and patient groups, community and hospital pharmacists, physicians, the College of Pharmacists of B.C., the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., the B.C. Pharmacy Association, B.C. Medical Association, brand and generic pharmaceutical companies...

Words: 2220 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Ethics Case Study-Medical Law & Ethics

...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 refill order...

Words: 1109 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ethics for Nursing

...healthcare service and to create a more equitable, accessible, effective and efficient healthcare system.” (A.C.H.E).  There are many laws that have been implemented in today’s world to ensure that this is accomplished. “They are designed to prevent harm to others while protecting the rights of individuals.” (Pogzar, 2012, pg.196). Although in general most apply and affect everyone in our society, some affect those in the health care professions more. The Code of Ethics helps to keep personal feelings from entering into medical advise by the medical professional. Common ethics in a clinical setting are well known such negligence. Nurses are responsible for any negligence. “It is the unintentional commission or omission of an act that a reasonably prudent person would or would not perform under given circumstance” (Pozgar, 2012). Negligence acts such as administering the wrong medication, dosage, or to the wrong patient or omission such as failing to administer medications or order tests can bring up liability issues for the hospital and legal problems for themselves....

Words: 986 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

John Case

...A few years ago PharmaCARE’s study showed the AD23 would also slow the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease. This led John and the other pharmacologists that he led to reformulate the drug to capitalize on its outcome. To evade the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) inspection, PharmaCARE founded an exclusively held company, CompCARE, to function as a compounding pharmacy. This company would retail the new invention to people by prescription only. CompCARE profited from PharmaCARE’s standing, records, systems, and trades and marketing skill, and within several months the health community was talking about AD23. Response was good, mainly amongst Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs patients. Realizing the chance to get additional income, CompCARE started marketing AD23 straight to customers and promoting AD23 right to clinics, hospitals, and physician offices, although compounding pharmacies are not allowed to market medicines in large qualities for common use. To dodge this provision, CompCARE pushed doctors to give them fabricated patient names. As time passed, PharmaCARE sold CompCARE to WellCo, a big pharmacy company, a little while before AD23 was connected to over 200 heart attack deaths. CompCARE and its new establishment revel in best ever earnings and PharmaCARE’s stock price came close to 300 dollars per share. Individuals who used AD23 appeared to be having cardiac arrest at a...

Words: 1890 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Leg 500 Assignment

...All phases of marketing and advertising mix are subject to laws and limitations. Every marketing supervisor will be faced with how they must discuss ethics and law when marketing their products. Any marketing manager understands that there are cut and dry solutions to ethical issues that will occur during the normal course of business (Pharmaceuticals, n.d.). The Bureau of Consumer Protection’s places everything in perspective that all communication in the United States must be truthful. The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC) looks for dishonesty and deception towards customers that try to change their decision to purchase medications. FTC monitors truth-in-advertising laws especially with kids, but there have been a lot of immoral practices in advertisements over time. The most moral decision is not to promote to children but in this case to the parent. Children's ad urges children to get dependent on products that induce on social development (Media, 2004). Cigarette advertising is matched to marketing consumers for distinct programming while alcohol advertising is allowed on all television channels. It is important that organizations consider the right choice of their product before proceeding in advertising. Other advertisement ads with high demands that are permissible for promoting fast food products that doctors and everyone else can see is high risk for future obesity with children (Media,...

Words: 2683 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

A Peaceful Evacuation

...Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Anthony D. Mcilwain Professor Traubert LEG 500 05/10/2013 Synopsis Corporate governance and ethical responsibilities are the key components for executive teams to make proactive decisions within the organizational environment. “The Ethics & Compliance Office has operational responsibility for education, consultation, monitoring and assessment related to the Code of Business Conduct and compliance issues” (Cola, 2013). Unethical behaviors could transpire within a poorly monitored environment that could be detrimental to the reputation and characteristics of the business. Periodically there has to be an audit pinpointing weaknesses that could develop adverse situations that hinder stakeholders’ ties to the business. Shortcomings that result in casualties or potential monetary losses need to be addressed and resolved to ensure organizational goals are met. Stakeholders The multifaceted dimensions of the business are inevitable because the CEO has to communicate with stakeholders internally and externally periodically during the work week. Stakeholders internally would include employees, managers and board members. The executive staff has to ensure that no member contravenes the moral of the business through training, communication ties and ethic principles. According to the Wall street Journal, “CFOs have to quickly establish effective relationships with the CEO, the audit chair, the board, peer executives and staff...

Words: 1950 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Marketing

...Assignment 3: Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper By: To Professor: Stacie Pittell COURSE NAME: LEG 500 – Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance Strayer University Washington DC August 2012 Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper This analysis paper will explain if Dr. DoRight of Universal Human Care Hospital can manage when he discovers that patients inside the hospital are dying as a results of a extent of illegal practices by doctors, nurses and careless supervision of oversight on their be half. Also question the rights of staff to health and safety within the work place and address the duty of loyalty, and conflicts of interest between internal and external stakeholders. Additionally discuss the moral duties to report illegal actions, along side the deontology and utilitarianism principles. The Universal Human Care Hospital has to decide a way to handle things at the hospital. 1. Determine at least three (3) different internal and external stakeholders that Dr. DoRight might have to deal with on a daily basis at the hospital. The Universal Human Care Hospital has different internal and external stakeholders. Selected of these insider stakeholders are the nurse group committee, department managers, and Regional Director Compliance Manager. The nurse group committee is common nurses in command of promoting the health and safety of patients in their care. Department managers are concerned...

Words: 1774 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Legal and Ethical Consideration in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property

...by Fred Sand Professor Newcomb, Legal – 500 February 27, 2014 compared The remainder of the document will discuss and examine law suites held against PharmaCARE and various ethical dilemmas the company may encounter. On August 17, 1997, executives around northern New Jersey’s drug corridor, where most of the international Pharmaceutical companies have their headquarters, mobilized for action” (Aitken & Holt, 2000, p. 82). According to Aitken and Holt (2000), this was the day that the US Food and Drug Administration issued temporary guidelines the, for the first time, permitting the drug makers to specify the uses of their prescription remedies in their radio and television advertisements (p. 82). Marketing and advertisement has been around almost since the beginning of time. One of the ethical dilemmas concerning television and radio advertisements for prescription drugs is the potential for the consumer to self-prescribe or evaluate their symptoms. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2013), doctors believe that patients understand that they need to consult a health care professional about appropriate treatment (p.1). On the other hand, it could be possible for the patient to adapt their own symptoms for the sake of obtaining a desired medication. “Intellectual property (IP) is the work product of the human mind. Novels, paintings, computer programs, songs and inventions are all examples” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 316). “Activist...

Words: 1850 - Pages: 8