Medical Assistant Certification (MAC) AMCA Practice Exam

What type of negligence is indicated when a physician prescribes penicillin for a patient with a known allergy, leading to the patient's death?

1. Assault

2. Malpractice

3. Negligence

4. Battery

The correct answer is: Malpractice

The scenario described illustrates malpractice, which occurs when a healthcare professional fails to adhere to the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to a patient. In this case, the physician's action of prescribing penicillin to a patient with a known allergy signifies a significant deviation from the established medical guidelines that dictate careful consideration of a patient's medical history before prescribing medication. Malpractice involves not just a mistake, but a failure to provide the appropriate level of care, which is evident in this instance since knowledge of the allergy should have prevented the physician from making this potentially lethal prescription. The outcome, a patient’s death, underscores the severity of the breach of duty, further validating that this situation is classified as malpractice rather than other forms of negligence or unlawful actions. Other terms, like assault or battery, do not fit this scenario as they pertain more to intentional harm or unlawful contact, rather than an inadvertent failure to provide appropriate medical care. Negligence, while similar to malpractice, is a broader classification and doesn’t specifically address the professional context of healthcare, which makes malpractice the more accurate term in this case.