National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 1
You receive a call in MI from the local police. During the course of an investigation
the police officers have arrested a women and she is being held for questioning.
She is not very co-operative and she is not answering any questions in connection
with the crime under investigation.
Unfortunately, she us also not answering questions regarding some tablets that were
found on her. These tablets are in an unlabelled bottle, and the police officer on the
phone describes them to you and asks you to tell him what they are. The markings
are fairly distinctive and together with the colour and shape you reckon there is a
good chance Tic-Tac will identify them for you.

Would you comply with a request from the police to identify these tablets?

What are the implications in this case of identifying the tablets?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
You put the phone down without agreeing to answer the query, but you do agree to
call back after discussion with another member of your team.
You’re curious about what the tablet might be so you look on Tic-Tac anyway – the
tablets are unequivocally identified as a generic form of carbamazepine.

Would you comply with a request from the police to identify these tablets? Is
so, how much information will you give?

What are the implications of not identifying the tablets?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 2
A member of the public contacts you by telephone. He asks about how long drugs
stay in the body. On questioning, the drug in question is cannabis which he smokes
at weekends. He has an interview tomorrow (Tuesday) and knows they will ask for a
urine sample to test for drugs.
1) Summarise the key legal and/or ethical issues in this case
2) As a Pharmacist how would you deal with the situation?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 3
A young woman phones you in Medicines Information to ask for your help. She has
been taking Danol for “heavy periods” and discovered 2 weeks ago that she is
pregnant. Her doctor has told her that the baby will be malformed and that she must
have an abortion. She asks you to explain what Danol does to the baby and whether
there is any chance that the doctor could be wrong.
On further questioning, you find out that she has seen two other doctors in the
practice and they have also said that she must have an abortion; she has even
attended a clinic as arranged by her doctor and found out that it was a “termination”
clinic.
She is not married and there are problems with her boyfriend who feels that she
shouldn’t have the baby if it is going to be damaged.
1) Summarise the key legal and/or ethical issues in this case
2) As a Pharmacist how would you deal with the situation?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 4
A mother phones asking for identification of a tablet that she has found down the
side of a sofa at home. She thinks that it is her daughter’s and knows that her
daughter is taking a course of erythromycin. She has asked her daughter if this is her
tablet and her daughter says that it is one of her erythromycin tablets.
The mother says that the tablet is white and round with a letter “e” stamped on it.
She doesn’t believe her daughter and suspects that it might be ecstasy as her
daughter mixes with a rather unsuitable crowd at the school
1) Summarise the key legal and/or ethical issues in this case
2) As a Pharmacist how would you deal with the situation?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 5
A solicitor calls asking whether cimetidine can interfere with a breathalyser test. He
has a client who is being charged with a drink-driving offence and he thinks that the
medication may have resulted in a false positive test result.
1) Summarise the key legal and/or ethical issues in this case
2) As a Pharmacist how would you deal with the situation?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 6
You are a ward Pharmacist on a general medical ward. One of the patients on the
ward is being treated for a chest infection with amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin and
erythromycin and is puzzling the doctors as he is not responding to treatment. The
doctors are due to present this case at a meeting the following day and have asked
you to talk to the patient to get a medication history.
During the course of this conversation, the patient tells you in confidence behind the
curtains, that he has a problem. While at a conference six months ago, he went to a
gay bar as a joke with a friend and ended up in bed with some guy. The patient fears
that he is HIV positive. He asks you not to tell anyone as he is terrified of losing his
wife and job. He is married with three children and is a practising dentist
1) Summarise the key legal and/or ethical issues in this case
2) As a Pharmacist how would you deal with the situation?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
National Medicines Information Training Course
Law and Ethics workshop
Scenario 7
A member of public telephones MI towards the end of the day. It is a gentleman who
initially starts to ask you about the side effects of an antidepressant he is taking,
prescribed by the doctor, but you quickly realise all is not well.
As the conversation progresses, you can hear that the caller is very distressed. His
sentences are interrupted by what appears to be muffled sobs, and you suspect that
he is crying on the phone.
While you are trying to decide how to handle the call, the caller finally asks, “Also,
what dose might kill me?”

What is going through your mind at this point?

Consider the factors that come into play in this scenario under each of the
bioethical principles:
o Beneficence
o Non-maleficence
o Autonomy
o Justice

Would you give the answer? Why or why not?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010
The callers last question has left you reeling – its the last thing you expected.
However, he then proceeds to tell you he is severely depressed and that in a
moment of desperation, he has taken a large quantity of his tablets only
minutes ago. Indeed, he thinks he can begin to feel the effects, and hence his
questions.
He is now desperate to know whether he needs to get help and where from.
He is sorry that he took the overdose and wants to remedy the situation.

What is going through your mind at this point?

Consider the factors that come into play in this scenario under each of the
bioethical principles:
o Beneficence
o Non-maleficence
o Autonomy
o Justice

Would you give the answer? Why or why not?
Maggie Fitzgerald
January 2010