Professional Ethics Pharmacist s Right to Refuse to Dispense
A Pharmacist’s Right to Refuse to Dispense
PHIL 333 Assignment 4
Pharmacy is a noble respected profession guided by strict laws and regulations. Pharmacists are the care providers who are responsible to provide drug therapies that improve the quality of life of a patient and their family. Previously pharmacists were only thought to be a drug dispenser but now they are the care providers of the community (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013). In the 1800s, pharmacists played the role of apothecary, a medical professional that prepared and sold drugs in earlier times (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013). Towards the end of the 1900s to the present, pharmacists have focused on responding to manage care and new concerns about the quality of patient care (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013).
Moral and ethics have always had a special place in the practices of these health care providers as they are looked up to as the trusted members of societies. There are always some ‘black sheep’ who bend the rules and bring a bad name to this noble profession (Ankenbruck, 2014). Breaking the confidentiality of the patient, marking up the price of medication for a difficult patient or selling too much codeine, are practices that no pharmacist would do if they were ethically and morally sane (Ankenbruck, 2014).
The different ethical issues faced by the pharmacist can be categorized into confidentiality, justice, veracity, non-maleficence and autonomy. Autonomy is one of the most common issues faced by pharmacists every day (Christman, 2015). They have to create a balance between the patients’ right for information and protecting them from harm (Rhys, 2007). Consequences may occur if full disclosure of the side effects of the therapy is revealed to the patient and they back out from the treatment. Also it can result in interference in the physician-patient relation, therefore when providing information to the patient about the therapy the pharmacist must exercise caution (Rhys, 2007).
The second
PHIL 333 Assignment 4
Pharmacy is a noble respected profession guided by strict laws and regulations. Pharmacists are the care providers who are responsible to provide drug therapies that improve the quality of life of a patient and their family. Previously pharmacists were only thought to be a drug dispenser but now they are the care providers of the community (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013). In the 1800s, pharmacists played the role of apothecary, a medical professional that prepared and sold drugs in earlier times (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013). Towards the end of the 1900s to the present, pharmacists have focused on responding to manage care and new concerns about the quality of patient care (Lai, Trac, Lovett, 2013).
Moral and ethics have always had a special place in the practices of these health care providers as they are looked up to as the trusted members of societies. There are always some ‘black sheep’ who bend the rules and bring a bad name to this noble profession (Ankenbruck, 2014). Breaking the confidentiality of the patient, marking up the price of medication for a difficult patient or selling too much codeine, are practices that no pharmacist would do if they were ethically and morally sane (Ankenbruck, 2014).
The different ethical issues faced by the pharmacist can be categorized into confidentiality, justice, veracity, non-maleficence and autonomy. Autonomy is one of the most common issues faced by pharmacists every day (Christman, 2015). They have to create a balance between the patients’ right for information and protecting them from harm (Rhys, 2007). Consequences may occur if full disclosure of the side effects of the therapy is revealed to the patient and they back out from the treatment. Also it can result in interference in the physician-patient relation, therefore when providing information to the patient about the therapy the pharmacist must exercise caution (Rhys, 2007).
The second