How does the scenario make you feel?
Prescribing experimental drugs without confirming their effectiveness is not a relevant idea. Although the "Right to Try bill" allows a patient to access experimental drugs, the bill only permits the prescription of the drugs after validating their safety from the initial phase of the clinical trial (Mahant, 2020). The scenario does not bring a good feeling because the doctors should have certified that the patient has exhausted other available treatments before availing of the medication and provide a choice. Before prescribing an experimental drug, a sound scientific rationale and evidence of safety and efficacy must be proved; however, the requirement lacked in the scenario.
How was it handled?
The whole scenario was not handled efficiently; first, the physician did wrong by administering the experimental drugs to a patient without his/her consent. Secondly, proceeding with the prescription without establishing the effectiveness and the side effect of the drug was unethical because patients have the right to get information on the potential effects that the drug may cause to their lives. Failure to provide the choice was irrelevant, and the decision made the patient feel obligated and continue taking the medication even when suffering from adverse effects such as pounding heartbeat and blurred vision. The doctors also did wrong by continuing to administer the experimental drug despite the continual deterioration of the mental and physical condition of the patient.
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How would you have handled it?
I would have handled the patient ethically by first developing expert knowledge about the medication and the familiarity of treating the patient. I would also take the patient consent and permit free choice without forcing the medication on her (Mahant, 2020). It would also be essential to provide therapy, check the dosage, and monitor the side effect to know the action to take if the effects become worse. It is fundamental to ensure that benefit-to-risk ratio analysis is done in all the treatment processes and educate the patient about the process.
Reference
Mahant, V. (2020). "Right-to-Try" experimental drugs: an overview. Journal of Translation Medicine . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02427-4
