org). Were those rights violated in the case of Robert Courtney's unlawful behavior? Yes those rights were violated in several ways. First, the information Courtney's patients received was both false and incomplete. They did not realize they were not getting what they paid for; they were treated shabbily by a man who specialized in providing fraudulent medications. Second, the patients getting prescriptions from Courtney were not given the opportunity to take part in treatment decisions; in this case, it would have been impossible for Courtney to show them the truth without opening himself up for investigation. Thirdly, Courtney's patients were not treated with respect, in fact they were discriminated against through the delivery of phony, watered-down medications.

What role did Courtney have as a patient advocate? Did he uphold that obligation? He certainly did not prove to be an advocate; rather he engaged in criminal activities while putting on the pretense of being a wholly professional healthcare person with his expensive clothes and smooth personality.

The legal conclusion of this case finds Courtney incarcerated for many years based on the fraud he perpetrated against his patients. He was also sued (tort suits) by upwards of 200 former patients and the deciding factors in his incarceration were the samples of his prescriptions that the FBI had access to -- that resulted in 20 federal counts of tampering with and adulterating chemotherapy drugs. The FBI conducted empirical...

They had hope that the medicines he prescribed would help them go into remission, but moreover, he violated the trust of his patients, he broke federal laws, and he became obsessed with his ill-gotten gains.
There was no appeal filed (he pleaded guilty) and he is in prison today. I am not sure whether or not changes in the delivery of prescription drugs resulted from this case. But in conclusion, certainly the pharmaceutical industry has tightened up their guidelines and pharmacists are aware that the public expects honesty from all healthcare professionals, and also, the public expects that the Patient's Bill of Rights will be honored in all instances.

Works Cited

About.com. (2009). HIPPA and Issues of Privacy and Security. Retrieved August 13, 2011,

From http://patients.about.com/od/obtainingrecords/a/hipaa.htm.

Draper, Robert. (2003). The Toxic Pharmacist. The New York Times. Retrieved August 14,

2011, from http://www.nytimes.com.

Patient's Bill of Rights. (2010). What is the Patient's Bill of Rights? Retrieved August 14, 2011

From the American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org.