Question

In which of the following situations might a physician be held liable under the Doctrine of respondeat superior?

A. The physician writes a prescription, but the pharmacist compounds it incorrectly.
B. The hospital housekeeping staff did not clean up a spill and a patient fell as a result.
C. The medical assistant helps a patient take her home medications while the patient is at the office. The patient is given 2 (two) 500 mg. tablets of Metformin instead of 1 (one) 500 mg.
D. An intern observing a physician in the operating room discusses the surgery and patient outside of the hospital with friends.

Answer 1

A physician could be held liable under the Doctrine of respondeat superior in situation C, where a medical assistant gave the wrong dose of medication to a patient, as this falls within the scope of employment and pertains to patient care.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Doctrine of respondeat superior, a legal doctrine most commonly used in tort, states that an employer could be held liable for the actions of its employees if those actions were performed within the scope of employment.

Considering this doctrine, a physician might be held liable under the Doctrine of respondeat superior in situation C, where the medical assistant, likely considered an employee of the physician or the medical practice, gave a patient an incorrect dosage of medication.

This action directly relates to patient care and was performed during the course of the employee's duties.

In the other scenarios presented, liability may be less clear under the doctrine. For instance, in situation A, the pharmacist who compounded the prescription incorrectly is likely employed by a separate pharmacy and not directly by the physician.

In situation B, the hospital housekeeping staff's actions are distinctly under the hospital's operational control, not the individual physician's.

In situation D, an intern discussing patient details outside of the hospital could be a breach of confidentiality, but may not necessarily directly relate to the physician's responsibility under respondeat superior, unless the intern was instructed by the physician to engage in such behaviour.