Upon further investigation, you learn that Stephanie spoke with the patient and

Question

Upon further investigation, you learn that Stephanie spoke with the patient and called the medication into the patient’s pharmacy without consulting with a provider. Stephanie claimed that the patient was insistent about needing a prescription. Since Mrs. Smith was coming into the office the following week for an appointment, she didn’t think you would mind if the patient received the prescription early.

Discussion Question:

What are the ethical-legal concerns associated with this situation? Provide evidence to support your response.

Explanation / Answer

What are the ethical-legal concerns associated with this situation? Provide evidence to support your response?

The MBC (Medical Board of California, 2012) can states as a medical assistant the stephanie may call in prescription orders or refills to a pharmacy, but in this situation it was only approved and ordered by a provider, that is a physician, physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP). The ordered unapproved prescription to the provider that was not ordered by you and the Stephanie has stepped outside of her scope of practice and has placed herself, you, Mrs. Smith the patient, and the entire practice at risk, with the most important kind of risk being the ethical risk of potentially causing harm to Mrs. Smith. Although Stephanie displays proficiency in her role as a medical assistant and has excellent rapport with providers and patients, she has not received the required education and training as a provider and therefore it is not in her scope of practice to prescribe a medication (MBC, 2012). By doing so, Stephanie may have caused serious harm to the health and well-being of Mrs. Smith and has placed her, you, and the practice in position for a possible lawsuit.

Reference:

Medical Board of California (MBC). (2012).Is your medical assistant practicing beyond his other scope of training.

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