Posted: January 28th, 2022

The ethical and legal implications of the scenario involve various stakeholders

The ethical and legal implications of the scenario involve various stakeholders
Name of the Pharmacology Department Academic Institution

Pharmacology

The situation involves a number of different stakeholders, including the prescriber, the pharmacist, the patient, and the patient’s family, who are all concerned with the ethical and legal ramifications. The failure of the pharmacist to provide all relevant information to the patient, as well as the failure of the prescriber to accept responsibility for the error, have serious ethical ramifications (Gorgich, Barfroshan, Ghoreishi & Yaghoobi, 2016). It is the patient’s responsibility to report the matter in order for appropriate action to be done and for such trends in hospitals to be stopped. It is the patient’s family’s responsibility to seek justice and fairness on his or her behalf. The legal ramifications, on the other hand, are those that arise as a result of the medical error after it has occurred. The patient’s relatives should notify the hospital administration as well as the legal justice system about the situation (Ferrah, Lovell & Ibrahim, 2017). The nurse has an obligation to tell the truth about what transpired in order to defend the patient’s interests in the future. In addition, the patient should be held accountable for explaining the situation to the legal justice system. Maintaining loyalty, which includes being trustworthy and truthful in the performance of nursing tasks, is essential for the pharmacist. As a result, all parties involved in a medical error should be aware of the ethical and legal ramifications that may arise as a result.
Disclosure and nondisclosure strategies are discussed in detail.
The disclosure of errors is required in order to reassure a nurse about the honesty of a healthcare practitioner. Nurses should not be concerned about the implications of disclosing information, but they should be concerned about the wellbeing of the patient first (Ferrah, Lovell & Ibrahim, 2017). In addition, disclosure is critical since it lowers the likelihood of a lawsuit being brought. Nurses who honestly acknowledge that they were involved in a medical error will not be punished as severely as a nurse who is attempting to conceal her involvement in an error (Gorgich, Barfroshan, Ghoreishi & Yaghoobi, 2016). Nondisclosure, on the other hand, is an ethical issue that will call into question the trust and integrity of patient-nurse relationships. One of the reasons why nondisclosure is unethical is that the patient should be told so that he or she can begin preparing mentally and physically for the consequences of the blunder. A medical prescription that was given incorrectly has resulted in a lawsuit in California. It is claimed by the victim that the pharmaceutical was intended for long-term usage, whereas he was in need of a short-term prescription. The individual has filed a lawsuit in order to recover compensation for his medical expenditures and other losses (Medication Errors, 2017). He asserts that he had motor and neurological issues as a result of taking the incorrect medication.
Decision-Making Techniques and Strategies
Decision-making techniques include admitting an error in order to protect the welfare of a patient and increase their faith in the healthcare provider. A mistake has been made, and it is necessary to admit it to a colleague nurse or nursing leader who is there (Gorgich, Barfroshan, Ghoreishi & Yaghoobi, 2016). Once the error has been detected, it is rather simple to come up with a solution. Nurses should not be scared to admit their mistakes because doing so is the first step in the process of learning. Failure to reveal the error, on the other hand, can be harmful to the patient because they will be given the incorrect drug. The ‘do no harm’ concept is crucial, and the welfare of the patient should always take precedence over all other considerations.
The second technique entails consulting with other professionals who have extensive experience in the field. When there is a misunderstanding, the practice of consulting is employed. A nurse should not be afraid to raise a question because it may result in the saving of a life (Zaghloul, Rahman, El-Enein & Younes, 2016). For example, it could entail getting clarification from the nurse who recommended the drug on what they were trying to accomplish. In cases where the recommended prescription is not illegible, consultations can still be scheduled. It may be necessary to ask a patient to wait or stand away while discussions continue in order to avoid administering the incorrect medication to them. In addition, a nurse can examine the reference guide that is accessible (Ferrah, Lovell & Ibrahim, 2017). The book provides information on the quantity, dose, interactions, and conditions that can be addressed by various types of drugs.
Writing Prescriptions: Prescription Writing Techniques
The procedure of writing prescriptions is critical since it helps to reduce the number of pharmaceutical errors that occur. In general, the writing process can be divided into four basic stages. When writing a prescription, the first step is to jot down the patient’s name as well as another identifying information such as their date of birth (Ferrah, Lovell & Ibrahim, 2017). It should also specify the medication’s strength, dosage, and frequency of administration, as well as the route via which it should be taken. It is also critical to specify the quantity of refills that the patient should be entitled to throughout a specific period of time (Sukumaran, 2017). In addition, the physician’s identify, including their NPI number, should be stated. Correct identification will be critical in lowering the number of incorrect medical prescriptions.
The method of reducing medical errors includes double-checking the specifics of the medication that is being prescribed. Double-checking entails double-checking the type of medication, the dosage of medication, and the sort of condition that a patient is experiencing (Zaghloul, Rahman, El-Enein & Younes, 2016). It is recommended that a name alert method be implemented to reduce the number of medical errors by checking for names such as Johnston and Johnson. It is critical to double-check the amount of medication prescribed. It is always recommended that a pharmacist double-checks the use of zeros and abbreviations. For example, 0.25mg should not be confused with 25mg due to the fact that it has negative consequences for patients. A pharmacist should also use a reference guide for reference reasons in order to prevent confounding generic names, dose, nursing considerations, and drug-to-drug interactions between different drugs on the market (Sukumaran, 2017). A nurse should also adhere to the five rights, which include checking that the route, timing, patient, dosage, and accuracy of the prescription are all correct.

References
Ferrah, N., Lovell, J. J., & Ibrahim, J. E. (2017). A systematic review of the prevalence of medication errors resulting in hospitalization and death of nursing home residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 65(2), 433-442.
Gorgich, E. A. C., Barfroshan, S., Ghoreishi, G., & Yaghoobi, M. (2016). Investigating the causes of medication errors and strategies to prevention of them from nurses and nursing student viewpoint. Global Journal of Health Science, 8(8), 220.
Medication Errors (2017). California man sues for medical negligence after a medication error. Retrieved from; http://www.kastnerlaw.com/blog/2017/01/california-man-sues-for-medical-negligence-after-medication-error.html
Sukumaran, S. (2017). Physician challenges in medical error disclosure–a case study in undergraduate medical student education. Global Bioethics Enquiry, 35.
Zaghloul, A. A., Rahman, S. A., El-Enein, A., & Younes, N. (2016). Obligation towards medical errors disclosure at a tertiary care hospital in Dubai, UAE. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 28(2), 93-99.

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