KAPS Professional Ethics and Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pharmacist discovers that a colleague has been routinely shortchanging controlled substance quantities to patients. What is the pharmacist's primary ethical obligation?
- Report the colleague to the state board of pharmacy (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague privately and give them a chance to self-report
- Document incidents for 30 days before taking action
- Notify the DEA without informing the employer
Correct answer: Report the colleague to the state board of pharmacy
Pharmacists have a professional and legal duty to report colleagues who engage in illegal or unethical conduct that endangers patients to the appropriate regulatory authority.
Question 2: Under HIPAA, which of the following constitutes a permissible disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without patient authorization?
- Sharing prescription history with the patient's employer for insurance purposes
- Disclosing information to public health authorities to control disease (Correct answer)
- Providing medication records to a family member who requests them
- Releasing records to a pharmaceutical company for marketing analysis
Correct answer: Disclosing information to public health authorities to control disease
HIPAA permits disclosure of PHI to public health authorities for activities such as disease control without patient authorization under the public interest exception.
Question 3: Which ethical principle is most directly applied when a pharmacist ensures that a patient with limited English proficiency receives counseling in their native language?
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice (Correct answer)
- Beneficence
- Autonomy
Correct answer: Justice
Justice requires fair and equitable treatment of all patients; providing language-appropriate counseling ensures equal access to care regardless of linguistic background.
Question 4: A pharmacy intern witnesses the pharmacist-in-charge approve a prescription that appears to be forged. The intern's best course of action is to:
- Dispense the prescription since the pharmacist approved it
- Refuse to dispense and document the incident for reporting to the board (Correct answer)
- Contact the prescriber directly without informing the pharmacist
- Report immediately to local law enforcement only
Correct answer: Refuse to dispense and document the incident for reporting to the board
Pharmacy interns must not dispense fraudulent prescriptions and are obligated to document and report unethical or illegal conduct by supervisors to the appropriate authority.
Question 5: The concept of 'conscientious objection' in pharmacy practice most appropriately requires that the pharmacist:
- Refuse to dispense any medication they find objectionable without further obligation
- Ensure the patient can obtain the medication through timely referral to another provider (Correct answer)
- Post a public notice of all medications they decline to dispense
- Obtain state board approval before invoking conscientious objection
Correct answer: Ensure the patient can obtain the medication through timely referral to another provider
Conscientious objection is ethically acceptable only when the pharmacist ensures continuity of care by promptly referring the patient to an accessible alternative source.
Question 6: A pharmacist is offered a gift from a pharmaceutical sales representative in exchange for recommending their product. According to professional ethics standards, the pharmacist should:
- Accept gifts under $50 as they do not constitute a conflict of interest
- Decline all gifts that could influence prescribing or dispensing recommendations (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift but disclose it to the pharmacy manager
- Accept only gifts that are educational in nature
Correct answer: Decline all gifts that could influence prescribing or dispensing recommendations
Accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies that could influence professional judgment creates a conflict of interest and violates ethical standards of independence and patient-centered care.
Question 7: When a pharmacist suspects a patient is experiencing intimate partner violence, the most appropriate ethical response is to:
- Immediately contact law enforcement without speaking to the patient
- Provide resources and a safe environment to disclose while respecting patient autonomy (Correct answer)
- Document the concern in the dispensing record and take no further action
- Refuse to dispense medications until the patient confirms their safety
Correct answer: Provide resources and a safe environment to disclose while respecting patient autonomy
Pharmacists should sensitively offer resources and create a safe opportunity for disclosure while respecting that the patient is the decision-maker regarding their own situation.
KAPS Professional Ethics and Standards 2
A pharmacist discovers that a colleague has been routinely shortchanging controlled substance quantities to patients.
What is the pharmacist's primary ethical obligation?