551-10

Assignment for Lesson 10

From my point of view, Hooks should also be responsible in the situation presented here. This is because there exists a direct pharmacist-patient relationship. The case here presents intentional and unintentional drug abuse. This is something that the pharmacists at Hooks Drugstore were aware of as the records at this store clearly showed that the patient consumed the drugs much faster than expected. The patient appeared in the store in every two or three days an indication that he had become addicted.

From the public policy point of view, pharmacists have the duty to prevent intentional and unintentional drug abuse. Hooks did not exercise this duty and instead continued to refill the drug at a faster rate than it was prescribed. Hooks would have realized that the customer was either disposing the drug in a way that is not prober or was a victim of addiction and stop refilling it. However, Hooks continued to refill the drugs thus aiding the patient to become an addict of these drugs. While the pharmacist is required to honor the prescriptions as they are prescribed by the physician or practitioner, the pharmacist should ensure that the drugs work for the best interests of the patient and do not lead to addiction. If there are signs of possible addiction, the pharmacist should not issue the drugs. Therefore, as a matter of public policy, Hooks should be responsible for aiding the patient become an addict of the prescribed drugs.