27 Oct Jack Jones was transferred from a Community ACO Hospital to a rehab facility for therapy

Jack Jones was transferred from a Community ACO Hospital to a rehab facility for therapy. The day he was scheduled to move was an exceptionally busy day in the hospital, with many new patients arriving and current patients being discharged home or to another facility. The care manager at the hospital contacted the ACO transportation service to transport Jack to the facility at 12:30 p.m., and she sent a notice of his approximate time of arrival, a summary of his care plan, and his expectations to the care manager at the rehab facility. The orderly took Jack to the ambulance exit area for transport to the rehab facility. The staff in the ambulance exit area were told by dispatch that the ambulance was “on the way.” Unfortunately, the ambulance did not arrive until 2:30. In the meantime, Jack waited, lying on a hard stretcher in the ambulance exit area for two hours. When he arrived at the rehab facility, the nurse in charge of his care that afternoon was surprised at one of the directions for medication. The physician had prescribed Norfloxacin, an antibiotic to prevent further infection, but the entry was for Norflex, a muscle relaxant. The nurse called Dr. Meredith about this medication entry. Dr. Meredith immediately responded with the appropriate change. 

Questions:

 1. What are the ethical issues here?

 2. Where do the errors in transitioning the patient lie? What should be done to correct the errors?

 3. What is a process that can lead to an ethical resolution to the ethical issues?