In July 2015, an elderly woman being treated for several health issues attended

Question

In July 2015, an elderly woman being treated for several health issues attended a local health clinic. The medications for her chronic diseases placed her in an immuno-compromised status. While waiting to be seen by her primary care physician, a child came in with his mother, sneezing and coughing. Nothing more was thought of it until the woman died from pneumonia—caused by measles. This was the first death in the U.S. from measles in 12 years.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are the facts of this case?

2. What would have been the potential impact on the woman if the child had the following diseases: pertussis, polio, influenza, or Ebola?

3. What are the management implications of this case? Should there be separate waiting rooms for people with an immuno-compromised status?

4. What are the legal and ethical obligations of the parent of the unvaccinated child?

5. What are the legal and ethical obligations the clinic has to its patients and how do they apply to this case? Should the woman’s family seek legal remedies?

6. An RN who works at the clinic refuses to have an influenza vaccination. She does not have allergies, nor does she have religious objections. She “doesn’t believe in them.” Create a script for a conversation with this employee, urging her to reconsider, and detailing the consequences of her continued refusal.

Explanation / Answer

1- The elderly women should wait in that area where she could not contact with any person having flu and viral problem because she caught fast due to  immuno-compromised. Such patients should keep in isolation in the hospital and such facilities should have developed. Another thing the hospital should taken care of was to isolate patient who have viral flu and other from other patient else other patient will get infected.

2- The reason for death of the women would have been different because of the infectious disease of the child.

3- It was the task of the management to keep separate waiting room for patients having different problem and especially for patient who have low immune power.

4-There is not any such legal implication but parents have ethical implication to get their child vaccinated in time and as per schedule else the repurcation is catastrophic.

5-Though any such law is not there but ethical implication is there for the hospital. patients visit hospital to get cured from their disease not to catch other disease due to their presence in hospital at that time. They cannot take legal remedies because laws have not formulated for such thing.

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