What if you were to face going to jail for doing nothing wrong?

Believe it or not I was put in just that position not too long ago and it is part of the reason I'm looking to retire from being a Pharmacist.

Now most people think that being a Pharmacist is a pretty easy just. Just get the prescription, fill the prescription, get paid. Follow the rules, don't give bad advice, look after the patient and we are all good.

Except sometimes it doesn't go that way.

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What would you do?

Here is the scenario.

A long term client comes to our pharmacy. They need more of their narcotic medication. Their dose is very very high because they have a special condition and are typically seen by a University research hospital. What are they getting? A strictly controlled narcotic medication where the street value of their daily dose is over $2,000. Giving them a week of their medication could be sold for over $15,000 on the street. Of course in a situation like this we need to be very careful with the amount that we dispense. Verify the prescription, verify the use, document everything and keep it legal.

All good. RIght?

Except in this instance the patient didn't have a prescription. Their doctor had gone on vacation and they forgot to get a prescription.

What does the law say?

"No prescription no medication".

What happens if I give the medication? Well, I'm giving out a narcotic without authorization. In that way I'm doing the same as if I was selling it on the street. Imagine the news headline. Community Pharmacist caught trafficking $15,000 worth of narcotics from XYZ Pharmacy. Possible jail time and possibly lose my license for failing to abide by the rules of the profession.

So I shouldn't give the medication, right?

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Ah but there is the other side of the coin. This patients medication dose was very high. In fact it was so high that it would kill any normal person. Indeed it is a dose that is about 50x a normal dose and quite literally enough to drop an elephant. Can I send them to a doctor or hospital to get a prescription? No. There isn't any Doctor who would be willing to write a dose that large as they could be sued for malpractice. Indeed, there is a very real chance that a hospital wouldn't even have enough medication on the ward to cover their dose.

If I don't help this patient out they will not be able to get their medication.

The law also says that I can be held responsible if I cause undue suffering for a patient by failing to act. Indeed, I can go to jail and lose my license if I don't give the medication.

So, I should give the medication, right?

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But that's where things get dicey for me. I have to break the law one way or the other. When I do that I face jail time and losing my license. I can't legally say YES and I can't legally say NO and I can't shift the problem to someone else.

What do I do? I contact my licensing body to ask for advice. What advice do I get? Document everything because I could be taken to court for malpractice either way I choose. Great. Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

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How do I look at the problem?

In the end it comes down to a personal choice. It come down to trying to figure out what the intent of the law is. It comes down to what newspaper headline I would rather see if things go bad.

I have free will and can choose to obey or ignore any law that is written as long as I'm willing to accept the punishment. In this case the punishment could be the same either way.

So, which headline would I rather see?

Pharmacist denies patient needed medication?

Pharmacist caught trafficking in illegal medication?

Both of them are unattractive. However, if I'm called before a judge I would rather argue that I was trying to help a patient in need rather than I was trying to follow a rule to keep medication off the street.

Document everything and prepare for having to give an account.

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The same goes for any other law

As a general rule I like obeying the laws. I like having laws and I like living in a society where people obey the rules. I do things like follow rules about shovelling snow. I follow rules about going the speed limit. I follow rules about getting vaccinations and all sorts of other things. I do it because as a Christian I am to follow the rules of the land.

But....

I also look at the intent of the rules. If my wife was dying I'd forget about about speed limits! If I'm not able I'll ignore city laws about shovelling snow. In the end I look at any law and will happily ignore any one of them if the situation needs it.

That's it for this write up and thanks for reading this far.

Feel free to write a comment about what you would do.

Maybe you would find it to be a non issue for yourself, but for me, who likes following rules, it was a real ethical dilemma.