Ethical And Legal Implications Of Prescribing Drugs At LEAST ✓ Solved

Ethical And Legal Implications Of Prescribing Drugsat Leas

Assignment: Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs at least 3 citations and references. What type of drug should you prescribe based on your patient’s diagnosis? How much of the drug should the patient receive? How often should the drug be administered? When should the drug not be prescribed? Are there individual patient factors that could create complications when taking the drug? Should you be prescribing drugs to this patient? How might different state regulations affect the prescribing of this drug to this patient? These are some of the questions you might consider when selecting a treatment plan for a patient. As an advanced practice nurse prescribing drugs, you are held accountable for people’s lives every day.

Patients and their families will often place trust in you because of your position. With this trust comes power and responsibility, as well as an ethical and legal obligation to “do no harm.” It is important that you are aware of current professional, legal, and ethical standards for advanced practice nurses with prescriptive authority. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the treatment plans and administration/prescribing of drugs is in accordance with the regulations of the state in which you practice. Understanding how these regulations may affect the prescribing of certain drugs in different states may have a significant impact on your patient’s treatment plan. In this Assignment, you explore ethical and legal implications of scenarios and consider how to appropriately respond.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

Prescribing medications is a critical aspect of advanced practice nursing, requiring meticulous attention to ethical and legal considerations to ensure safe and effective patient care. In the context of prescribing drugs, nurses must navigate complex regulations, individual patient factors, and ethical principles such as beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice. This paper addresses the ethical and legal implications of prescribing practices, strategies for disclosure, decision-making guidelines, and strategies to minimize medication errors, emphasizing the importance of adherence to state laws and professional standards.

Ethical and Legal Implications on Stakeholders

The act of prescribing medications bears significant ethical and legal implications for all stakeholders involved, including the prescriber, pharmacist, patient, and patient's family. For prescribers, the primary ethical obligation is to ensure patient safety and to prescribe appropriately, aligning with clinical guidelines and evidence-based practices (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018). Legally, prescribers must adhere to state and federal regulations governing prescription authority, controlled substances, and monitoring protocols (DEA, 2006). Failure to comply may result in legal penalties, loss of licensure, or malpractice suits.

Patients rely heavily on prescribers’ ethical conduct to receive safe and effective treatment. Inappropriate prescribing, such as overprescription or prescribing contraindicated medications, can cause adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and harm. Families are also impacted, especially in pediatric or geriatric cases where medication misuse can lead to significant complications (American Geriatrics Society, 2019). Pharmacists serve as critical safety checkpoints, ensuring prescriptions are accurate and appropriate, but they are bound by legal standards to prevent dispensing errors.

Strategies for Disclosure and Nondisclosure

Transparency in disclosing medication errors or potential adverse effects is fundamental to ethical practice. According to Fowler and the American Nurses Association (2015), nurses should disclose errors promptly, explaining the nature of the mistake, potential consequences, and corrective measures. State laws, such as those in California, explicitly protect disclosures of adverse events to maintain honesty and trust (Ladd & Hoyt, 2016). Nondisclosure, although sometimes justified to prevent harm, undermines trust and can exacerbate legal consequences if errors are uncovered later.

Decision-Making Strategies for Advanced Practice Nurses

In complex prescribing scenarios, two strategies can guide ethical and legal decision-making. First, utilizing a clinical decision support system (CDSS) helps ensure adherence to evidence-based guidelines, reducing the risk of medication errors (Sabatino et al., 2017). Second, engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration with pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals fosters comprehensive assessments and shared accountability. Regarding error disclosure, I believe in transparent communication, as ethically necessary and legally mandated in many jurisdictions, to maintain trust and uphold professional integrity (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018).

The Prescription Writing Process and Error Minimization

Writing prescriptions involves clear documentation of medication name, dosage, route, frequency, and duration, coupled with accurate patient data. Employing strategies such as electronic prescribing, barcode scanning, and the use of error-prone abbreviations avoidance lists (Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 2017) significantly reduces the risk of errors. Proper verification procedures, including patient counseling and double-checking medication orders, are vital. Additionally, staying current with state-specific regulations ensures compliance, preventing legal repercussions and optimizing patient outcomes.

Conclusion

Effective prescribing requires a comprehensive understanding of the ethical and legal frameworks that govern nursing practice. Transparency, adherence to regulations, multidisciplinary collaboration, and technology utilization are pivotal in safeguarding patient health and maintaining professional integrity. As advanced practice nurses, embracing these responsibilities ensures ethical accountability and legal compliance, ultimately fostering trust and delivering optimal care.

References

• American Geriatrics Society 2019 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel. (2019). American Geriatrics Society 2019 updated AGS Beers criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(4), 674–694.
• Fowler, M. D. M., & American Nurses Association. (2015). Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements: Development, Interpretation, and Application (2nd ed.). American Nurses Association.
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices. (2017). List of error-prone abbreviations, symbols, and dose designations. Retrieved from https://www.ismp.org
• Ladd, E., & Hoyt, A. (2016). Shedding light on nurse practitioner prescribing. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(3), 166–173. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2015.09.17
• Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2018). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice providers. Elsevier.
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2006). Practitioner’s manual. Retrieved from https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Code of federal regulations. Retrieved February 1, 2019, from https://www.ecfr.gov
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Mid-level practitioners authorization by state. Retrieved May 13, 2019 from https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
• Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018; Sabatino et al., 2017; Ladd & Hoyt, 2016 for ethical, legal, and educational insights.