Helping others has always been your passion and the fact that you are working in a cancer care center, as a medical assistant, is a dream come true. You are also completing your undergraduate degree in health care management and are hopeful that there will be a position for you with the center as an entry-level manager. Each day you continually work to prove yourself to the physician, Dr. Bully, who is the owner of the center. You feel like you have done everything you can to prove that you can manage the center once you have completed your degree. Life is never easy at the center, as extremely sick patients are the norm. Today, however, a young patient comes in after being in remission for the last six months. She states she is often tired and has trouble sleeping at night. She also states she read about an experimental drug called ZX12 that is being touted as a post-cancer treatment medication that will get you on your feet quicker, restore your energy, and prevent cancer from returning. She indicates to you that she would like to try this new medication. Being the student of health care that you are, you explain to her that the medication is not approved by the FDA, and that since her condition is improving, she does not qualify under the current state laws surrounding experimental drugs. You complete your preliminary work up and provide Dr. Bully with her chart. As the day draws to a close and the last patient leaves the center, Dr.Bully provides you with a form that he asks you to fill out and return to him for a signature. You have done this many times and don’t think much about it until you read the form. Dr. Bully is putting in a request for the experimental drug ZX12 for the young female patient you visited with earlier today. Because you feel this is an inappropriate treatment modality based on your understanding of current laws, you decide that you will discuss this with Dr. Bully .Dr. Bully is in his office when you ask if you can speak with him. After making your case, Dr. Bully becomes enraged and asks you who you think you are to question the decision of an MD. Furthermore, he tells you that the management job that you desire will not be available unless the paperwork is completed and on his desk in the next 30 minutes. He then tells you to leave his office, get back to work, and do what you are told!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 

1. Outline the major issues in this case that need to be addressed.
2. Assume that you live and work in a state that has adopted one of the “Right to Try Laws.” What does your research tell you about how they work? Does this patient fall under the protections of these laws? Why or why not?
3. Assume that you live and work in a state that has not adopted one of the “Right to Try Laws.” Is there precedent for Dr. Bully’s actions?
4. What do you make of Dr. Bully’s comments about the management job opportunity? Is this a threat concerning your future with the company?
5. What is your best option to remedy this situation at this point?
Should you fill out the paperwork?

6. You know that there are few jobs in the health care sector where you live, this one pays well, and you are happy working for the center. You mull over the issues and believe that by filling out the form, you carry no legal responsibility. Is this true? Use your knowledge of law and ethics to provide the rationale for this type of thinking.
7. Are there legal actions that can be taken concerning this situation?
Explain what actions you might consider.
8. Looking back at the totality of the circumstances that have occurred, was there a better way to handle this from the beginning? What if you were unaware of current “Right to Try Laws” when the patient spoke with you? Where does the issue of education surrounding these types of legislative actions begin and end in the workplace?