May 24, 2006This Drug Could Do a Lot of Damage and I Won’t Fill Your Prescription Until I’m Sure You Know the Risk
Lily was impressed with Susan’s weight loss, due to a “miracle drug” Phen-Phen. Lily got her own prescription but when she went to fill it, her pharmacist read her the riot act. She told her:
You’ve got too much to lose to risk taking such a dangerous drug just to lose a few pounds. This drug can do a lot of damage and I won’t fill it until I’m sure you understand the risks.
Lily decided not to take the drug. Now, years later, Lily’s friend Susan has some serious heart problems as a result of the drug.
I don’t know the professional guidelines that determine what pharmacists should and shouldn’t say, but I do know that Linda’s pharmacist did her a great service. If professional policies keep you from warning people who are on the verge of making a bad decision, you may be prostituting yourself…selling your integrity for the wage your employer pays you. Is it worth the price?
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I am concerned because your reponse implies that healtcare professionals are willing to “prostitute” their integrity for a wage from an employer. All
healthcare professionals are held to high standards within their own professions. We are all expected to give a patient health information specific to their needs so that they may make an informed decision in their care. There are patients that are not used to this model and prefer instead to follow their care provider’s advice without question. There are also patients that don’t want more information that they can handle emotionally or intellectually. I have been a nurse since May 1977 and have always tried to hold myself up to a high standard of care.There will always be a healthcare provider somewhere in this country that may not live up to the high standards of their profession but I seriously doubt that any of them are intentionally prostituting their integrity for the almighty dollar.
Everyone needs to be proactive in taking a more involved role in their own
healthcare in order to make THE most informed decision that they can and with the current technology available there truly is no reason not to be actively involved in healthcare decisions.
Comment by Frances Walendzik — May 26, 2006 @ 1:23 pm
Thanks for expressing your concern.
Actually I did not mean to imply that healthcare providers sell out regularly or that they are any more likely to do things in their work that feel unethical than anyone else. I know many people do face pressure to say things they don’t believe in their jobs and to do things that they think are unethical. I have felt this in sales jobs in the past, and left those jobs as a result.
I am glad to hear that your work doesn’t present you with that dilemma, and I didn’t mean to imply that it was a situation unique to or universally found in healthcare.
I hope this clarifies my intent. Thanks for writing! – Meryl
Comment by merylrunion — May 27, 2006 @ 6:34 am