Margaret Chuang Class 8 Notes Pharmacist Code of Ethics preamble pharmacists are health professionals who assist individuals in making the best use of medications this code prepared and supported by pharmacists is intended to state publicly the principles that form the fundamental basis of the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists these principles based on moral obligations and virtues are established to guide pharmacists in rela tionships with patients health professionals and society 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a pharmacist respects the covenantal relationship between the patient and pharmacist a pharmacist has moral obligations need to be committed to welfare maintain trust a pharmacist promotes the good of every patient in a caring compassionate and confi dential manner a pharmacist considers needs stated by patient and those defined by health science focuses on serving patient in private confidential manner a pharmacist respects the autonomy and dignity of each patient a pharmacist promotes right of self determination and recognizes individual self worth by encouraging patients to participate about their own health respects personal cultural dif ferences among patients pharmacist acts with honesty and integrity in professional relationships a duty to tell truth act with conviction of conscience avoids discriminatory practices behav ior or work conditions that impair professional judgment pharmacist maintains professional competence a duty to maintain knowledge abilities as new medications devices and technologies be come available and as health info advances pharmacist respects the values abilities of colleagues and other health professionals a asks for consultation of colleagues other health professionals or refers the patient when ap propriate pharmacist acknowledges that colleagues other health profs may differ in the be liefs values they apply to patient care pharmacist serves individual community and societal needs a primary obligation of pharmacist is to individual patients obligations of a pharmacist at times extend beyond the individual to the community society in these situations pharma cist recognizes responsibilities and acts accordingly pharmacist seeks justice in the distribution of health resources a pharmacist is fair equitable balancing needs of patients and society code made by American Pharmacists Association 10 27 1994 Ethics and Pharmacy Practice ethics set of moral principles principles of conduct governing an individual or group comes from Greek word means character morality personal societal pursuit of right action ethics systematic pursuit of morality on a larger scale such as a corporate organiza tion ethics in pharmacy has shifted from more paternalistic approach to one that acknowl edges patient autonomy pharmacists face some dilemmas such as dispensing medications to prescriptions that need clarification dispensing emergency hormonal contraception selling OTC meds that will neither benefit nor harm the patient selling OTC meds to patients who may be abusing them deciding whether or not to report prescribers and dispensing clinically equivalent meds without prescriber authorization code of ethics adopted by APhA endorsed by ASHP highlights 8 principles of code of ethics contemporary issues in pharmacy practices related to each one a pharmacist respects the covenantal relationship between patient and pharmacist Institute of Medicine estimates that 1 5 million preventable adverse drug events ADEs occur in the US every year prescribing transcribing dispensing administration errors can occur at each step prescribing 39 transcription 12 dispensing 11 administration 38 majority of legal claims against pharmacists in the US involve dispensing errors 50 of dispensing error claims involving dispensing the wrong drug 27 are due to dispensing the right drug in the wrong strength 8 are due to incorrect labeling other reasons a claim may be filed failure to review drug regimen missed allergies etc 7 failure to counsel or warn of potential adverse drug reactions 2 failure to counsel warm of potential adverse drug reactions is the fastest growing segment of claims against pharmacists can be prevented of measure are in place a pharmacist promotes the good of every patient in a caring compassionate and confi dential manner PHI places concern for the well being of the patient at the center of professional practice HIPAA health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996 changed the way we think about a patient s protected health information PHI set national standards breach unauthorized acquisition access use or disclosure of PHI including electronic now all cases of PHI are presumed to cause harm be reportable ex laptop with PHI is misplaced company is presumed guilty of harming patients un less they can prove that PHI wasn t accessed now business associates of covered entities are held to many of the same rules liable for violations billing services data archive companies have to be HIPAA compliant gov t has more power to crack down on those who don t comply with HIPAA collect ing fines for violations previously most written communications to patients were considered under the heading of treatment and were okay without authorization now limits so pharmacies may have to re work patient mailers and rethink patient care programs that receive funding from manufacturers patients now have the right to receive electronic copies of their health information if they request it in that format right to restrict disclosures about their treatment for a health plan revised notice of privacy practices copies of child s immunization records can be shared with their school based on a parent a pharmacist respects the autonomy and dignity of each patient ethnic minorities 1 3 of US population Hispanic population is the fastest growing mi minority groups underrepresented in the health care field patient s belief systems cultural biases ethnic origins etc may be different than your request own nority group familismo importance of family machismo traditional gender roles fatalismo person is predestined no control over his or her future try to go beyond yes no type questions seek feedback so patient can make informed decisions about his or her care a pharmacist acts with honesty and integrity in professional relationships impaired pharmacist can cause great harm dispensing wrong drug substance abuse estimated 1 12 Americans engaging in illicit drug use healthy alc use health care