Ethical And Legal Implications Of Writing Drug Prescriptions

 
 
 
 

Ethical and Legal Implications of Writing Drug Prescriptions
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Ethical and Legal Implications of Writing Drug Prescriptions
Healthcare professionals are required to adhere strictly to the set medical practicing standards without failure or compromise. Their actions when prescribing drugs are subject to ethical and legal implications, thus requiring high levels of professionalism. All stakeholders involved during drug prescriptions can be held accountable for their actions or omissions and are subject to legal and ethical implications.
First, it is the basic responsibility of healthcare professionals to study the history of the patient and their related drug chart when making a decision regarding drug prescription. In addition, a healthcare professional is required to conduct a physical examination on a patient and make the appropriate diagnosis that will guide in prescribing the appropriate drugs to a patient (Mitchell and Oliphant, 2016). Medical professionals are tasked with preserving and protecting human life through proper maintenance of drug prescriptions (Arcangelo, Peterson, Wilbur and Reinhold, 2017). The patient, his/her family, the drug prescriber, and the pharmacist are the key stakeholders involved in the drug prescription for the benefit of the patient.
Nursing Practitioner
A nurse is instructed to strictly adhere to the professional code of conduct when conducting tests and assessments on a patient before proceeding to prescribe drugs. Several guidelines have been established to assist nurses in making correct prescriptions, including establishing the patient’s medical history, conducting appropriate physical examinations and assessments on the patient, providing the patient with appropriate information, warning and instructions, making the correct diagnosis of the patient’s problem and selecting the correct medication for the established medical problem. Additionally, use of appropriate prescriptions tools such as prescribing software and electronic drug references is encouraged to minimize errors during prescription (Duquesne University School of Nursing, 2018). Nursing practitioners should adhere to these guidelines at all times during their practice.
Pharmacist
A pharmacist has a duty to counter-check the history of the patient before filling in the prescription. Issues such as drug quantity and dosing interactions should be checked carefully by pharmacists to avoid instances of adverse effects to the patient cause by prescription errors. Negligence and non-adherence can lead to a lawsuit filing by the patient against the pharmacist.