Essentials of Law for Medical Practitioners , livre ebook

Table of Contents

Cover image
Front Matter
Copyright
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Reviewers
1. Introduction to law
2. Safety and quality in health
3. Documentation
4. Privacy and confidentiality of patient information
5. Negligence
6. Consent
7. End of life decisions
Chapter 8. Fertility and reproductive technology
9. Drugs and poisons
10. Mental health
11. Professional regulation and discipline
Chapter 12. Research
Answers to review scenarios and activities
Table of cases
Table of statutes
guardianship & Administration
Glossary
Index
Front Matter

Essentials of Law for Medical Practitioners
Kim Forrester RN, BA, LLB (Advanced), PhD
Barrister at Law, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Science and Medicine, Bond University, Queensland
Debra Griffiths RN (Mid), BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Legal Practitioner, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Victoria

Sydney Edinburgh London New York Philadelphia St Louis Toronto
Copyright

Churchill Livingstone is an imprint of Elsevier
Elsevier Australia. ACN 001 002 357
(a division of Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd)
Tower 1, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067
© 2011 Elsevier Australia
This publication is copyright. Except as expressly provided in the Copyright Act 1968 and the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted by any means (including electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright, but in some cases this may not have been possible. The publisher apologises for any accidental infringement and would welcome any information to redress the situation.
This publication has been carefully reviewed and checked to ensure that the content is as accurate and current as possible at time of publication. We would recommend, however, that the reader verify any procedures, treatments, drug dosages or legal content described in this book. Neither the author, the contributors, nor the publisher assume any liability for injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any error in or omission from this publication.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Forrester, Kim.
Essentials of law for medical practitioners/Kim Forrester, Debra Griffiths.
ISBN: 9780729539142 (pbk.)
Includes index.
Medical laws and legislation--Australia.
Griffiths, Debra.
344.94041
Publisher: Sophie Kaliniecki
Developmental Editor: Neli Bryant
Publishing Services Manager: Helena Klijn
Project Coordinator: Natalie Hamad
Cover and internal design by Trina McDonald
Edited, proofread and indexed by Forsyth Publishing Services
Typeset by TNQ Books and Journals
Printed in China by China Translation and Printing Services
Foreword
Contemporary medical education and practice in Australia traverses and incorporates a wide range of ideas, information, knowledge and practical experience. Increasingly the curriculum content of Australian Medical Schools includes the legal principles, legislative provisions and case law that direct, underpin and support the practice of medicine. This first edition of the text, Essentials of Law for Medical Practitioners , written by Dr Kim Forrester and Dr Debra Griffiths, not only meets an expanding need for discipline specific legal content within the medical degree program, it does so in a way that enhances and compliments existing medical curriculum content. This text is particularly useful in that it meets both the educational requirements of the medical students while simultaneously providing a valuable information resource for medical practitioners.
Dr Forrester and Dr Griffiths are registered nurses with many decades of clinical experience. They are both admitted as lawyers and hold academic positions at Bond University and Monash University, respectively. They are actively involved in the teaching of medical students and research in the area of medical law. As the authors of this text they therefore bring a unique perspective and understanding of the practical application of the law to clinical practice.
The text is written in a manner which aims to assist medical students and practitioners to identify and understand their legal responsibilities and obligations when providing patient or client care and treatment. Each chapter of the text includes learning objectives, scenario questions and answers, review questions and activities in addition to suggested further readings. This approach compliments the current problem-based learning pedagogy and interactive learning strategies adopted by many medical faculties. The content of this book includes an introduction to the Australian legal system, an overview of the quality and safety framework in health, the legal requirements in relation to documentation, privacy and confidentiality of patient information, the law of negligence and consent, the legal considerations relevant to end of life decisions, fertility and reproduction, medication handling and administration, professional regulation and clinical research.
The authors have provided a comprehensive explanation and overview of the most common areas of law impacting on daily clinical practice. The text makes an important and significant contribution to the ultimate aim of medical education; to produce competent medical practitioners.
Professor Steve Wesselingh, BMBS FRACP PhD

Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia
Preface
This book has been written with the intention of providing medical students and medical practitioners with an overview of the legal principles and law that applies to, or influences, everyday clinical practice. Current medical practice requires a working knowledge of a broad range of legal areas ranging from patient consent, end of life issues and privacy, through to the more recent and emergent areas relating to quality and safety in patient care and research.
Medical practitioners and students of medicine are required to be sufficiently informed so as to ensure that their clinical practice reflects legal expectations. In a country with many states and territories, each with its own ability to make and shape the law, practitioners are faced with differing legal expectations or approaches to a number of practice areas. This book seeks to introduce and provide, for the practitioner and student alike, the basis for an initial understanding of many key areas of law as they relate to medical practice. Though the law is always evolving and changing, this book addresses the current legal position and attempts, where relevant, to provide some background in a number of areas, which highlight or explain the more recent changes and legal expectations.
The authors both have many years experience working as health professionals in various public and private environments and they are both lawyers with interest, research and teaching experience in the everyday practice of health professionals. It is with teaching experience in mind that this book has been formulated with objectives at the commencement of each chapter and review questions, scenarios (complete with answers at the end of the book) and further readings, located at the conclusion of each chapter. The authors acknowledge that the law is often imprecise, nevertheless they have highlighted and commented on those areas of the law that lack clarity. This book is not intended to provide legal advice, rather it is a starting point when medical practitioners and students are seeking to explore a medico–legal topic which may influence clinical decisions and practice.
Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 provide an introduction to the features of the Australian legal system and issues relating to adverse events, complaints mechanisms and government strategies designed to assist in the quality and safety of healthcare. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 address the significance of maintaining accurate and contemporaneous patient records and the obligations and exceptions of medical practitioners in relation to privacy and confidentiality. Chapter 5 considers the law of negligence, outlining the elements of the action, highlighting the significant Australian cases and addressing expected standards of medical practice, while Chapter 6 discusses the important issue of consent. Chapter 7 considers end of life decisions, including processes for advance directives, withdrawal of treatment and guardianship requirements. Chapter 8 deals with key areas relating to infertility and reproductive technology, including the differing approaches to the law of abortion, the rights of the foetus and father, cloning and surrogacy. Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 contain pertinent practice features relating to medication prescription, administration and mental health legislation. Chapter 11 provides information relating to registration and the recent changes to move to a national framework of registration and regulation. Chapter 12 introduces readers to the legal issues relevant to clinical research, including the standards provided by the national funding bodies and the significance of maintaining research practices consistent with legal and ethical expectations.
Kim Forrester

Debra Griffiths
Acknowledgments
The preparation of this manuscript has been both challenging and inspiring. There are individuals who have co