Ethics Case Study
Kathy Conway
HCS/335
January 0, 2012
James Dockins

Ethics Case Study
The role of the office medical assistant varies greatly from not only state to state but from office to office as well. Most states however do require some type of formal training and there are different levels of what the assistant is allowed to do depending on the levels of education and certifications. Medical assistants are not the same as physician assistants and so the medical assistant requires a physician to be present when treating a patient.
The role of most medical assistants is more of an administrative nature, they work alongside the physician and other staff member doing what is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the practice (London, 2011). There are many things an office assistant can do to assist in the daily operations of a physician’s practice besides answering a telephone. They may help obtain the patients health histories, the reason for that day’s visit, and the taking of vital signs. They are allowed to do so because the physician is right there in the office and not outside the building (London, 2011). Jerry McCall
Jerry McCall has a big dilemma because he is the only one in the office at the time a call comes into the office for a last minute refill of a prescription. The dilemma is that the patient needs a prescription of Valium refilled before he heads to the airport and only has a very short period of time. To further complicate matters for Jerry the patient informs the office they are a personnel friend of the physician. The dilemma is that Jerry is an office assistant and although Jerry has had some training as a medical assistant and is an LPN they are not licensed to order refills for any prescriptions. What Jerry needs to do as soon as the patient asks is to identify them self as an office assistant (Fremgen, 2009). If Jerry were to refill the patient’s prescription whether it is for Valium or for high blood pressure medication and the patient has an adverse reaction the physician that Jerry works for could be sued under respondeat superior because Jerry is working directly for the physician.
On one hand Jerry’s training allows them to do certain procedures such as give injections, take vital signs, and be involved in some laboratory tests and retrieval of such tests, and is trained as an LPN, but Jerry does so under the supervision of a physician in the office. Jerry can sympathize with the patient understanding that whether the patient is in need of Valium to fly or a patient needing high blood pressure medication, legally they do not have the necessary credentials that allows them to give out the prescriptions. Advice to Jerry
My advice to Jerry is to be careful in their wording to the patient and to explain to them that they are not licensed to order refills for prescriptions. He can understand that the patient is a personal friend of the physician and is under some time constraints but they cannot make any promises but they will try to contact the physician to call in the refill for the medication. Jerry needs to be careful how he or she speaks to the patient because they do not want to make it sound like they are making promises or entering into a verbal contract.
The best way for Jerry to solve this problem is to listen to the patient, be sympatric and understanding. Jerry also needs to let the patient know up front what his role at the practice is so that the patient understands what Jerry is and is not allowed to do. Also by offering to try and contact the physician but not making any promises this lets the patient know that everything is still being done to get the medication in time for the flight, but also that it might not work out as well. This can help keep the patient from becoming upset with both his friend and physician and going elsewhere for care. References Fremgen, B. F. (2009). Medical law and ethics (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Prentice Hall.

London, J. (2011). Job Description & Duties of a Medical Assistant. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8335654_job-description-duties-medical- assistant.html