The Patient and the Practitioner: Health Law and Ethics in Australia

Abstract

THE PATIENT AND THE PRACTITIONER: HEALTH LAW AND ETHICS IN AUSTRALIA provides a clear, logical and critical explanation of health law and ethics in Australia. It examines the duties, obligations and responsibilities that arise in the context of the health practitioner-patient relationship. It also introduces issues that relate to health as a human right, public health law, and mental health regulation. Regulatory approaches and challenges are addressed throughout the discussion. The book is divided into four sections. The first part introduces the concepts underlying the health care issues discussed throughout the book. It identifies the theories that underpin legal principles and regulation, and examines the link between legal and ethical practice. It introduces major sources of health care ethics and relevant schools of thought. The second part examines legal concepts and areas of law integral to health care treatment. It focuses upon issues of consent (and refusal), the principles and regulatory structure applicable to incompetent adults and minors, the law of negligence, criminal law, and duties associated with the management of health care information. The third part considers the law in context, including the law as it relates to preconception, conception and birth, end of life, and research involving humans, embryos and cloning. Particular ethical challenges that arise in such contexts are canvassed, and the development of the law discussed. In the final part, the authors address broader systemic regulation and health care issues, including the regulation of health care practitioners, public health, and mental illness and disability. The book combines an accessible, detailed and highly cohesive discussion of the legal principles applicable to health care with a critical assessment of the current cultural, political and scientific themes that present distinct and difficult ethical challenges. It is an invaluable resource for a wide audience including both legal and health practitioners, academics, and undergraduate and postgraduate students.