Putting patients' needs first only if it suits us?

摘要

The letter from my old friend Brian Curwain (PJ, 6 April 2013, p372) caused me to ponder the ethical and moral dilemmas faced by some pharmacists, especially if one is working as the sole pharmacist in a community pharmacy. I can still remember the dispensing regulations being officially amended to allow pharmacists to decline to dispense oral contraceptives on moral or religious grounds provided they pointed the patient to a pharmacy that would supply. The letter made me consider a question to which I do not know the answer, namely, do GPs have similar rights? Another question is, can an employer refuse to employ a pharmacist who refuses to dispense "the pill"?