W 07 Ethics

Question 1

What five elements, broadly speaking, does Bismark consider will be included in the case of an “authentic apology’?

Answer 1

Autonomy (is about a person’s ability to act on his or her own values and interests)
Beneficence (an act of charity, mercy, and kindness)
Non-maleficence (a duty to do no harm)
Justice (they didn’t handle the situation adequately)

Question 2

Do you consider this is solely a case of ‘individual” wrongdoing, or are there “systems” issues at play also? How could similar events be prevented?

Answer 2

Individual- pharmacist could’ve put more care into her help towards Mrs Miller, and should’ve taken her concern more seriously.
System- the pharmacy could’ve taken the complaint more seriously and looked into ways to make sure something similar won’t happen again.
Don’t push the blame onto each other?
How prevented: Should have more careful during patient counseling
Should have taken extra time if the pharmacy is extremely busy.
Communicate to the doctor if the pharmacist is not sure about his decision.

Question 3

What do you think would be a just and reasonable outcome in this case?

Answer 3

Give a formal apology to Mrs Miller and compensate the cost of the Nurofen and medical costs
Reassure her that the pharmacy will take steps in order to make sure that this kind of situation won’t happen again
Assurance to the Miller family of a behaviour change and increase in competence
Pharmacists in charge would have agreed that the complaint was not taken seriously so the pharmacist should change the way of handling complaints differently in future or for this situation.

Question 4

How could similar events be prevented?

Answer 4

Better training

Emphasise the importance of honesty in the profession