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¶ … pharmacists get involved in medical ethics-Making medical ethics decisions about medical treatments?
It could be argued that a pharmacist makes an ethical decision every time he or she dispenses a prescription. A pharmacist must make a determination if the medication is appropriate for the patient's condition, if the patient understands the risks and benefits of taking the medication, and understands how to correctly administer the medication to him or herself. If the patient seems unclear on these issues, and has no caretaker, the pharmacist may have to intervene -- or even simply if the medication seems questionable for the condition it is designed to treat. A heavy painkiller for minor pain might raise a pharmacist's ethical 'red flag.' The pharmacist might be concerned that the patient is using certain drugs, such as the stimulant Adderall, for non-medical purposes, if the patient is receiving frequent large prescriptions from various physicians. Or the patient may ask the pharmacist point-blank: 'is it true that this will help me stay awake longer to study?' Pharmacists have the responsibility to report patient's and physician's 'bad practices' as well as to identify potentially dangerous scenarios with immediate consequences.
Within the profession itself, there are many ethical debates, pertaining to medications, such as prescribing psychotropic drugs like antidepressants to adolescents, the correct times to use palliative care at the end of a patient's life, the ethics of emergency contraception and giving 'the morning after pill' and contraception to adolescents without parental consent. For pharmacists engaged in research, the appropriate use of animals in research and whom to include or exclude in clinical trials may be another issue of personal concern (Applelbe 2008). In all cases, to dispense medication means one must dispense good judgment, not simply pills and potions.
Works Cited
Pharmacy Ethics and Decision Making. (2008). Foreword by Gordon E. Appelbe. First edition.
London: Pharma Press.
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