Name: Sanaz Martin
Date: 10/16/10
Course: Internet and future of patient care
Module: #2
Critique about “Woman Couldn't Buy Inhaler during Asthma Attack” From My Fox New York
“A New Jersey woman was denied an inhaler at a pharmacy because she was $1.99 short” an unbelievable story in the past week on My Fox New York discusses a woman with Asthma attack that arrived at CVS pharmacy and was short $1.99 to buy her inhaler in her way back home. In spite of woman’s boyfriend who put forward his wallet and cell phone, they still got denied an inhaler. Finally, the boy friend had to call a friend who was a paramedic since the woman was on the floor wheezing. This News indicates how far the loss of moral value is into the root of our nation.
“The well-being of our customers is our highest priority and we are looking into this matter” said by CVS corporate offices is a sign of absolute discrepancy between what corporate office wants to show the public what they do, and what is actually being done. “Looking into this” is not a courteous statement to be said to the customer who could potentially face life threatening situation. It is unclear why the store manager was not involved and why nobody was helping this couple.
Besides the customers’ well-being, there should be customer safety protocol in place for crisis situation which is not being mentioned in this News. What if that patient would have had died before the paramedics, or in this case a friend could get there? It would be worth while to just have sample of common inhaler for patients with breathing difficulty in place. What happened to pharmacist’s moral value who has extensive medical education to save people’s life?
On the other hand, insurance company and business side of the story for CVS pharmacy needs to be considered. It is probably not the first time that patient came to the CVS pharmacy and could not afford the cost of medication or was short to pay the full cost. From the business stand point probably from time to time CVS or any business in that matter need to close eyes to moral values. However, in the case of an emergency the urgency needs to be addressed, especially if the patient has an account with the pharmacy and the cost can be dealt with in a later time.
This News reveals that in a certain situation money override people’s life or safety. It is an eye opening News for our society. Where do we draw line? When do we use our moral judgment? How do we prevent these types of situation from happening over and over?
Reference:
Greag, Katherine. “Woman couldn’t buy inhaler during asthma attack” My Fox NY.com 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/woman-couldnt-buy-inhaler-during-asthma-attack-20101014>
No comments:
Post a Comment