Answer

         Critical Issues in Healthcare

Introduction

       In the health care profession, the physician is responsible for writing down prescriptions, which should be followed by both caregiver and patient. In rare circumstances, the caregiver might disagree with whatever the physician has included in the prescriptions. At times, it might occur that whatever the caregiver is disagreeing, he or she is 100 percent sure is correct, whereas the physician is wrong.

Response to the Question

      Patients are different and unique in their own way, hence the physician has this in mind when giving out the prescriptions. Patient suffering from the same condition, but depending on their bodies and reaction to medication, the prescriptions given are different. For instance, some patients are advised to take dosages after every eight hours, while others are advised to take the dosage after six hours, yet they take same drugs and are suffering from the same illness. The physician is aware of patients’ body reactions to medication and gives prescriptions depending on the severity and nature of the illness. Normally, individuals have their dosages going for ten days, seven days or even five days. Other patients are expected to take double dosages while others are expected to take single dosages (Amalia & Sukohar, 2014). With the above explanations, it is ethically right for the caregiver not to violate the prescriptions of the physician. Even though the caregiver thinks he or she is right, this might be limited to the case handled. Maybe, the case at hand might be extreme or a little bit mild. The reasoning explains why the caregiver might be thinking she is right casting doubt on the physician prescriptions. Professionally, in case of doubt, there should be consultations between the caregiver and the physician, rather than violating the prescriptions of the physician, which might be detrimental to the patient in the end.

       After consultations with the physician, in case of wrong prescription, the physician should thank the caregiver and correct the prescription. However, physicians rarely give wrong dosages, if they are fully qualified as it amounts to unprofessionalism. The ethics of the medical profession are clearly stipulated, and one of them is encouraging the stakeholders in the field to constantly engage in consultation with colleagues, in case of, misunderstandings or disputes. In the instance the physician was right, he or she should justify to the caregiver the dosage, in order to, alleviate any fears and doubts. Furthermore, the physician is more experienced and learned compared to the caregiver. The caregiver might have little knowledge in the medical field, hence appropriate consultations between the two is a requirement of the profession, as both are acting towards the best interest of the patient, which is to get the patient healed (Legese, 2016). Additionally, when the two engages continuously, new things are discovered and in case of any problem, it can be easily rectified.

         Finally, instances might arise, where the physicians write prescriptions in a hurry. For instance, letter two might look like three leading to confusion, thus the physicians should always take time to explain the written prescriptions verbally to the caregiver. A verbal explanation of the written prescriptions gives more explanations, which might not be understood independently by the caregiver during interpretation of the prescription. The caregiver should not violate the order as this would amount to insubordination but should liaise with the physician to discuss the matter.