Medical laws have been put into place to protect not only the patient, but also the physicians, nurses, and medical office staff. The laws were put into place to ensure that these professionals follow the correct procedures and steps that only qualified persons follow. The definition of practicing medicine has also been clearly explained. Those professionals who do not abide by these set laws are therefore subject to punishment by law (Baxter 2005). Jerry has only trained as a medical assistant and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), so he is not qualified to give prescriptions.
If Jerry had been directly instructed by Dr. William to call in a refill, it would be okay to do so. It would also be okay for Jerry to call in the refill if there was an existing standing order for the refill on the patient’s chart. You can’t simply call in a refill on a prescription because the patient is a good friend of Dr. William’s. Only a physician, clinical pharmacist, dentist, surgeon or a podiatrist, who has a license to practice, can give prescriptions to a patient.
The patient in this case has specified that Dr. Williams gives him a valium prescription as a friend and not as a doctor so if Jerry were to call in his refill, he would be exposing himself and Dr. William’s to the risk of a malpractice case (Fremgen 2009). It does not make a difference if the medication that was requested was for the control of high blood pressure instead. It would only be appropriate for Jerry to call in a refill for such a case if there was a standing order for the refill of the Valium. Even if the patient critically needs the medication on a daily basis, it would not be appropriate for Jerry to call in a prescription because it is against the law to do so.
If Jerry was to call in a prescription and the patient were to have an adverse reaction, Jerry would only be protected from a lawsuit under the doctrine of respondent superior if there were an existing standing refill order. If Jerry made a new prescription, he would be liable in a lawsuit because his qualifications do not allow him to give a prescription and he does not hold the proper license. Calling in the prescription would be way out of Jerry’s responsibilities. Even if Jerry were to argue that the patient was critically ill, it would still be considered practicing medicine without a license, which is illegal.
Medical doctors are held responsible for actions of those medical employees under their supervision. Ethically, Jerry would be wrong in calling in a prescription knowing he is not qualified to do so and might even expose the patient to health complications. My advice for Jerry is to not call the prescription in. Even though the patient was persistently claiming his flight was leaving in 30 minutes, Jerry should calmly state that he is not qualified to call the prescription in, that he would first need to page Dr. Williams to confirm the refill request and state that he should call back when he lands and if Dr. Williams has OK’d the refill, they could call it in to a pharmacy where he is. Better yet, to take himself out of the equation completely, Jerry should call Dr. Williams and ask him to call in the prescription instead. If Jerry were to fill the prescription, he would be liable for malpractice or for exceeding his scope of practice. Jerry might also expose Dr. Williams to a malpractice case because he has not supervised him properly.
All medical assistants should abide by the rules that have been set by the medical association body, rules set by the state and rules set by the healthcare facilities where such individuals work. Each state has different laws regarding the scope of practice for a medical assistant. As of the year 2003, only the states of, Arizona, Connecticut, California, Maine, Iowa, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin have established medical assistant rules for practicing. An LPN can only work under the supervision of a registered nurse or a physician.
It is also considered unethical for Jerry to call in prescriptions for Dr. William’s patients because Jerry is not qualified for such kind of a medical responsibility (Fremgen 2008). He might unknowingly prescribe a drug that could potentially harm the patient. If the patient were to develop health complications from the prescription that Jerry refilled, the patient could then sue the medical office for malpractice. Jerry should call Dr. Williams or another doctor who is on call before even considering calling in the refill.