Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
Walden University Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs-Step-By-Step Guide
This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.
How to Research and Prepare for Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.
How to Write the Introduction for Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
The introduction for the Walden University Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.
How to Write the Body for Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
After the introduction, move into the main part of the Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.
Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.
How to Write the Conclusion for Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.
How to Format the References List for Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.
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Across the United States, nurse practitioners have some extent of prescriptive authority over drugs, controlled substances, medical services, and medical devices (de Araújo et al., 2019). NPs and other healthcare professionals with legal authority to prescribe medication are required to observe legal and ethical guidelines to safeguard the patient from harm. However, the regulations governing prescriptive practice among NPs vary across different states. For this discussion, the ethical and legal implications of the provided case scenario will be illustrated based on the New Jersey NP’s scope of practice.
Ethical and Legal Implications
The provided case study demonstrates an ethical dilemma of whether or not to report an NP who prescribes narcotic medication to her husband. The laws and regulations regarding prescribing medication to a family member or a friend differ by st
ate as it is forbidden in other states, whereas in some states, it is only advised against. In New Jersey, NPs are required to collaborate with physicians to enjoy prescriptive authority privileges (Ellenbogen & Segal, 2019). When prescribing controlled drugs such as narcotics, the NP is required to consult with the supervisory physician and complete must have completed education in the pharmacology of drugs listed under controlled substances. Consequently in New Jersey, prescribing controlled substances to self, family member, or friend is prohibited.
The prescriber, which in this case is the NP, violated all the regulations for prescribing controlled substances as required by the New Jersey state laws. For instance, she failed to consult the supervisory physician before prescribing the narcotic medication to her husband, which is also against the law. Prescribing medication to a family member undermines the professional objectivity of the prescriber in addition to compromised professional medical judgment (Phillips, 2020). Legally, the prescriber can end up losing their prescriptive authority or even the practice license. The pharmacist, on the other hand, must ensure that the prescription from the NP has met all the requirements as per the prescriptive practice protocol before dispensing the medication to the patient. Failure to do so, the pharmacist can also face legal charges.
Finally, the patient in this scenario may fail to disclose all the required information to promote the safe use of controlled substances, to her wife, who is the prescriber. Due to patient privacy and confidentiality, most couples fail to share their full medical history, especially the ones that they consider embarrassing such as addiction. Failure to disclose such information may promote the risks of adverse events and negative treatment outcomes (Squellati et al., 2022).
Disclosure and Nondisclosure
The nurse who witnessed her colleague violating the prescriptive authority of state laws and regulations was faced with an ethical dilemma of disclosure and nondisclosure of the incident. According to the Patient Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-12.23, healthcare professionals are required to report any form of medical malpractice including prescription malpractice, to the department head and the patient (Ellenbogen & Segal, 2019). Doing so will help prevent such issues from taking place in the future. However, failing to disclose the matter can lead to legal implications, in addition to being unethical primarily to the patient. As such, in the provided case study, it would have been necessary for the nurse to approach the prescribing nurse, and inform her about the implications associated with her actions in addition to the adverse outcomes associated with the use of narcotics. The prescribing nurse should also be advised against failing to adhere to the outlined prescriptive practice protocols to promote patient safety and positive treatment outcome. If the prescribing nurse ignores these concerns, she should then be reported to the departmental head, for legal action to be taken.
Decision Making
As an advanced practice nurse, critical thinking is crucial in promoting appropriate decision-making in situations like the one described above. Considering the patient as the center of care is a crucial strategy that must be utilized among all healthcare professionals when deciding on whether or not to disclose a medical error (Grecu & Spector, 2019). The second strategy should be based on upholding the patients’ rights, such as the right to information concerning their health. With these two strategies, I would disclose the error to the patient, and adopt appropriate mitigating interventions to ensure the patient’s safety and prevent harm. Failing to disclose the information to the patient, is unethical, and puts the patient at risk of adverse events and negative outcomes associated with the use of controlled substances such as narcotics.
Process of Writing a Prescription
A high level of professionalism is required in prescribing medication to promote patient safety and avoid medication errors. The prescriber must meet all the information requirements when writing the prescription. The following steps are crucial when writing a prescription. The first step is collecting patient information, including demographics and diagnosis (de Araújo et al., 2019). The second step is providing your information as the prescriber. The third step is to identify the drug name, form, strength and frequency to be administered. It is also important to write the exact quantity of the drug that has been prescribed. The fourth step is giving the direction of use and the number of refills. Finally, the prescriber must append his or her signature.
Conclusion
With the increasing prescriptive privileges among nurses, it is crucial to consider legal and ethical guidelines to promote patient safety. Consequently, each state has specific regulations governing prescriptive practice among RNs. Violation of such regulation is unethical to the patient and can also lead to legal implications for the prescriber, just like in the discussed case study.
References
de Araújo, B. C., de Melo, R. C., de Bortoli, M. C., Bonfim, J. R. de A., & Toma, T. S. (2019). How to Prevent or Reduce Prescribing Errors: An Evidence Brief for Policy. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.00439
Ellenbogen, M. I., & Segal, J. B. (2019). Differences in Opioid Prescribing Among Generalist Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants. Pain Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnz005
Grecu, A. M., & Spector, L. C. (2019). Nurse practitioners’ independent prescriptive authority and opioids abuse. Health Economics, 28(10), 1220–1225. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3922
Phillips, S. J. (2020). 32nd Annual APRN Legislative Update. The Nurse Practitioner, 45(1), 28–55. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.npr.0000615560.11798.5f
Squellati, R., McCants, K. M., Hadden, T. A., & Mitchell, C. V. (2022, January 1). 9 – Health policy for NPs: health literacy, cultural competence, and communication (D. Seibert, B. Malone, & P. DeLeon, Eds.). ScienceDirect; Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323999939000068
In the United States, advanced practice nurse practitioners have varying degrees of prescriptive authority, over certain medications and medical devices. They must thus display a comprehensive understanding of the legal implications associated with prescribing drugs, in addition to their ethical obligations (Billstein-Leber et al., 2018). Clinical practice ethical guidelines recommend all clinicians with prescriptive privileges, ensure that their patients are protected from harm. The provided case study however demonstrates a situation where a nurse practitioner prescribed an adult dose of a drug to a 5-year-old. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the ethical and legal implications associated with this scenario, and effective mitigating strategies to prevent such occurrences in the future.
Ethical and Legal Implications
In this scenario, the medication error displayed poses substantial ethical implications for the prescriber, pharmacist, patients, and the patient’s family. The nurse practitioner as the prescriber is required to uphold ethical principles governing patient safety. It was thus an act of unprofessionalism to make such a mistake of giving a child an adult dose, knowing very well the harm that the drug could cause. Ethically, the nurse is required to ensure beneficence in the process of care provision, which was violated by the incidence of medication error (Tigard, 2019). Consequently, clinicians are required to uphold justice in practice, which required the nurse to follow the necessary process required to address the medication error, rather than neglecting the patient. With this act, the nurse exposes the patient to the possibility of a legal lawsuit.
The pharmacist on the other hand is required to counter-check the prescription once received. In case of a medical error, the pharmacist must contact the prescriber and discuss the identified error before taking the necessary actions required to address the issue (Robertson & Long, 2018). However, if the pharmacist fails to identify the medical error, then he or she will also bear the ethical and legal burden associated with posing harm to the patient due to the medication error made by the nurse practitioner.
The patient, on the other hand, is a minor, who will suffer substantial harm from a drug overdose. The parents, who bear the legal responsibility of taking part in making healthcare decisions for their child, can sue both the prescriber and the pharmacist for the medication error (Varkey, 2021). Consequently, the patient’s parents have a legal right to information concerning the medication prescribed to their child, and how to take it, which should have been provided by the pharmacist.
Strategies to Address Disclosure and Nondisclosure
Disclosing medication error is an ethical act thus must be exhibited by all authorized prescribers in case they are faced with such a situation. In South Carolina, provisions for medication errors reporting are organized according to the South Carolina Code of Regulations. Medication errors are recognized in this state as one of the most crucial treatment-caused risks to the patient. As such, the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs demands clinicians to report every medication error that may occur in the course of care provision (
Strategies for Appropriate Decision Making
When faced with such a situation as an advanced practice nurse, I will always decide on disclosing the information to the patient. Medication safety is a crucial aspect in safeguarding patients from harm during the care delivery process. As such, in case of an error, the nurse needs to come forward to avoid legal penalties associated with non-disclosure(Varkey,2021). I will utilize two main strategies to decide on how to disclose the matter to the patient. First, I will explain to the patient how the medication error occurred to regain trust essential for a healthy patient-provider relationship. I will then expound on how the harmful impact of the error can be ameliorated and provide appropriate steps which will be taken to ensure that such an error will never happen again. This will help regain the patient’s confidence in the care plan hence promoting positive care outcomes.
Writing Prescriptions to Minimize Medication Errors
The process of writing a prescription mainly involves six steps. First, the prescriber must evaluate the patient’s problem, then specify the therapeutic objective (Mullen et al., 2018). After which the prescriber will select the most effective drug therapy, and initiate the therapy, with appropriate consideration of the dosage, frequency, and duration of drug use. The prescriber will then give information and instructions to the patient and evaluate therapy regularly. To minimize incidences of medication errors, the prescriber must consider several factors before prescribing any medication. Such factors include whether the medication is the best choice in the management of the patient’s condition, whether there are any contraindications, whether the dosage is correct, whether the patient is allergic to any of the drug components, and appropriate storage for the drug among others.
Conclusion
Several ethical considerations have been outlined to promote appropriate prescriptive practices upholding patient safety and preventing harm. As such, in case of medication error like in the provided case study, the nurse is required to disclose the matter to the patient and implement appropriate strategies to address the issue.
References
Billstein-Leber, M., Carrillo, C. J. D., Cassano, A. T., Moline, K., & Robertson, J. J. (2018). ASHP guidelines on preventing medication errors in hospitals. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 75(19), 1493-1517. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp170811
Mullen, R. J., Duhig, J., Russell, A., Scarazzini, L., Lievano, F., & Wolf, M. S. (2018). Bestpractices for the design and development of prescription medication information: A systematic review. Patient education and counseling, 101(8), 1351-1367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.03.012
Robertson, J. J., & Long, B. (2018). Suffering in silence: medical error and its impact on health care providers. The Journal of emergency medicine, 54(4), 402-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.12.001
Tigard, D. W. (2019). Taking the blame: appropriate responses to medical error. Journal of Medical Ethics, 45(2), 101-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2017-104687
Varkey, B. (2021). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119
The instructions say “Be sure to reference laws specific to the state of South Carolina
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | ||
| Main Posting | 45 (45%) – 50 (50%)
Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources.
Supported by at least three current, credible sources.
Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
40 (40%) – 44 (44%)
Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth.
Supported by at least three credible sources.
Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
35 (35%) – 39 (39%)
Responds to some of the discussion question(s).
One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed.
Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.
Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
Post is cited with two credible sources.
Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors.
Contains some APA formatting errors. |
0 (0%) – 34 (34%)
Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately.
Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria.
Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.
Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
Contains only one or no credible sources.
Not written clearly or concisely.
Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors.
Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
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| Main Post: Timeliness | 10 (10%) – 10 (10%)
Posts main post by day 3. |
0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not post by day 3. |
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| First Response | 17 (17%) – 18 (18%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.
Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.
Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
15 (15%) – 16 (16%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
13 (13%) – 14 (14%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.
Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.
Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited. |
0 (0%) – 12 (12%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are missing.
No credible sources are cited. |
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| Second Response | 16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.
Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.
Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
12 (12%) – 13 (13%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.
Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.
Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited. |
0 (0%) – 11 (11%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are missing.
No credible sources are cited. |
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| Participation | 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days. |
0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days. |
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| Total Points: 100 | |||||
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Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to
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Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.
I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Hi Class,
Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Important information on Writing a Discussion Question
- Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
- There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
- Include in-text citations in your response
- Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
- Follow APA-7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor
- A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
- Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
- Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
- Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
- Follow APA 7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
- Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
- Here are some helpful links
- Student paper example
- Citing Sources
- The Writing Center is a great resource