Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team based upon the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members:

 
Medical assistant- The MA did not report the abnormal vital signs immediately to the NP. If the NP had not been in that patient's chart, then the patient could have died or experienced unfortunate adverse effects. Legally, the MA should be held responsible for this lack of communication. She did not execute her job properly, and she should be held accountable for her actions. If an adverse patient event were to happen, legally she would be the one responsible. Ethically, the MA did not put the patient first. She put her own wants and opinions first by engaging in the argument. In order to provide ethical care, the MA should have spoken to a licensed provider to get appropriate treatment (Lamb et al., 2018). 
Nurse Practitioner- Even though the NP was being proactive and looking through the patient's chart, this lack/delay in communication of vital signs could come back on the NP legally. Legally, the NP is responsible for the care of the patient. The NP should report this event to her supervisor and ensure she has malpractice insurance in case another situation like this happens. Ethically, the NP should go and check up on the patient to ensure that patient is stable and is getting proper treatment (Lamb et al., 2018). The NP should also counsel the staff members who were engaged in the argument. Since this seems to be an ongoing issue, the NP should remain disengaged from the arguments and encourage fellow coworkers to focus on patients and providing excellent patient care. 
Medical Director- The medical director is the leader in this outpatient clinic. As a leader, he has an ethical responsibility to the patients. If recommended by the NP, the medical director could go see this patient. He should verify (either directly or indirectly through the NP) that the patient is stable and is receiving quality care and treatment. The medical director also has the ethical duty to confront those in the argument and find
out how or why the argument was occurring. Medical directors have a responsibility to resolve ethical dilemmas and implement steps to prevent arguments from happening in the future (Lamb et al., 2018). With input from the NP, the medical director has a legal duty to confront the MA about her lack of communication and provide disciplinary action if he feels necessary. The medical director has a legal duty to investigate all of those in the heated argument. If disciplinary action needs to be taken against them, then the medical director has the responsibility to execute that. The medical director should take the appropriate steps to evaluate this issue from a legal perspective and find ways to prevent it from occurring in the future. 
Practice-Legally, the practice is responsible for everything that happens or does not happen in the office. If deemed necessary, the practice has the legal responsibility to revoke medical privileges from the MA for a certain amount of time. The practice may have to use disciplinary action against all those who participated in the argument as well. The practice may have to hire legal help if it were sued by the patient. Ethically, the practice should have a code of ethics that it uses as a foundation in the care it provides. When heated arguments occur in the workplace, patient-centered care is not being provided. The practice could provide training seminars on how to deal with disagreements in the workplace (Lamb et al., 2018). The practice could also implement conflict resolution strategies. Patients should feel a sense of compassion and care from their healthcare providers. If heated arguments are occurring in the workplace, then patients will likely not trust or feel secure in their care.