Requirements:
You are a family nurse practitioner employed in a busy primary care office. The providers in the group include one physician and three nurse practitioners. The back office staff includes eight medical assistants who assist with patient care as well as filing, answering calls from patients, processing laboratory results and taking prescription renewal requests from patients and pharmacies. Stephanie, a medical assistant, has worked in the practice for 10 years and is very proficient at her job. She knows almost every patient in the practice, and has an excellent rapport with all of the providers.
Mrs. Smith was seen today in the office for an annual physical. Her last appointment was a year ago for the same reason. During this visit, Mrs. Smith brought an empty bottle of amoxicillin with her and asked if she could have a refill. You noted the patient’s name on the label, and the date on the bottle was 1 week ago. You also noted your name printed on the label as the prescriber. The patient admitted that she called last week concerned about her cough and spoke to Stephanie. You do not recall having discussed this patient with Stephanie nor do the other providers in the practice.
Case Study Questions:
- What are the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members?
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- Medical assistant
- Nurse Practitioner
- Medical Director
- Practice
- What strategies would you implement to prevent further episodes of potentially illegal behavior?
- What leadership qualities would you apply to effect a positive change in the practice? Be thinking about the culture of the practice.
Solution:
Based on the case presented on Mrs. Smith, there are various ethical and legal implications for the practice members.Prescribing and refilling medications independently is not within the scope of practice of medical assistants. According to the AAMA Code of Ethics for Medical Assistants, medical assistants are required to uphold honor as well as high principles of the profession, which in this case were not upheld (American Association of Medical Assistants, 2019). Therefore, Stephanie’s action was unethical as he failed to uphold integrity by indicating my name as the prescriber without my consent. …..Please click the icon below to purchase the full solution at $5