Project Assist: A Case Study

The first indication of an ethical issue in development is when Dr. Petrov asks Dr. Hawkins to donate soon-to-expire or expired medications to Project Assist. A clear interpersonal tension is developing between Dr. Petrov and the pharmacist, especially since medications for the project is in short supply and the pharmacy disposes of them anyway. Furthermore, the pharmacist and doctor are aware of hospital policies and FDA laws in regards to the disposal and donation of drugs. Dr. Hawkins is in an ethical conflict with how to proceed because he agrees with Dr. Petrov in that any soon-to expire medication is better than no medication.

This case had a lot of missing information and no clinical information was presented. Helpful clinical information
Petrov and Dr. Hawkins are the main players in this case. However, the invisible, but significant parties involved are the patient populations served through Project Assist, the hospital administration, and FDA. Dr. Petrov is a mission in his homeland for Project Assist and Dr. Hawkins, the director of pharmacy at the hospital, is presented with a controversial and ethical problem to donate expired medications. Helpful situational information to obtain would be why Dr. Petrov is considering breaking the hospital’s policy to get more medications for Project Assist. What is Dr. Petrov’s role in the project and how long has he been a
Hawkins should reject Dr. Petrov’s request to break hospital policy and donate the medications for Project Assist. As discussed in class on January 21st, the principle of beneficence is an imperfect duty and there are limits to a pharmacist’s obligation to do good (Haddad, Lecture). For example, if the harm to the individual outweighs that of the patient, then the individual does not have an obligation to do it. Dr. Hawkins may face disciplinary action from hospital administration and criminal charges from the federal government. Although Dr. Petrov is willing to risk the possibility of disciplinary action, he should not assume the same attitude would be reflected by his coworkers. Additionally, an individual does not have a duty to do good if they are unable to. Therefore, if Dr. Hawkins is unable to donate the medications because of hospital policies, Dr. Petrov should respect his decision to do so. However, Dr. Hawkins may have an obligation to help Dr. Petrov get medications for Project Assist. Dr. Hawkins should help Dr. Petrov present his case to the hospital administration and get approval on the donation of such drugs. A formal approval could be beneficial to Dr. Petrov and the individuals served through Project Assist if the administration decides to donate up-to-date medications instead of expired ones. If the administration denies his request, he could reach out to drug manufacturers and state programs to present his