Law and Ethics for Health Practitioners (2^nd Ed.)

Law and Ethics for Health Practitioners provides clear and succinct information that demystifies legal, ethical and regulatory principles and their implications for clinical practice.

Accessible and easy to follow, the book provides a clear and concise introduction to the Australian legal and health systems, discussion of legal rules and regulations that govern health practice, and a guide to ethical principles, theories and approaches to support health practitioner decision making and practice. It is an essential resource presenting well-researched information in an easy-to-understand way, and practical guidance for health practitioners to apply the concepts discussed to their daily work.

This book is ideal for students undertaking a law and ethics unit in any health or medical course, as well as being an excellent resource for health practitioners practising in areas ranging from medicine to nursing, dentistry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology or any other allied health profession.

• Makes dry legal and ethical content interesting and easy to follow - accessible for all students and health practitioners.

• Clear and succinct explanations of current laws, ethical principles and theories make learning and application to practice easy.

• Explores hot topics such as consent, child and elder abuse, end-of-life decision making, management of health information, mental health legislation, negligence, tissue and organ donation, the regulation of drugs and poisons, and more.

• Provides practical information about working with legal representatives.

• Applied case examples link theory to clinical practice.

• Suitable for students and practitioners of a wide variety of health disciplines.

• Written by an expert in health law with contributions from health practitioners who provide practical insight into issues faced in diverse areas of clinical practice.

New to this edition

• Fully updated throughout

• Additional coverage of how the law and ethics interact, ethical theories, decision making, leadership and self-care, now discussed across three chapters

• Ethical considerations embedded throughout legal chapters where appropriate to further consolidate how the law and ethics may interact

• New and expanded coverage and guidance to assist health practitioners who must work with legal representatives, and appear in court

• A new chapter on alternative dispute resolution and tribunals

Instructor resources on Evolve:

• PowerPoints

Student and Instructor resources on Evolve:

• MCQs

• Weblinks

• Image library

Section 1: Introduction to Law for Health Practitioners

1. Introduction to the Australian legal system

2. Introduction to the Australian health system

3. The Regulation of Health Practitioners

Section 2: Introduction to Ethics for Health Practitioners

4. Introduction to ethics and key ethical frameworks

5. Key Components of Ethical Reasoning and Decision Making

6. Contemporary Ethical Issues in Health Care, Collaboration, Leadership and Self Care

Section 3: Professional Regulation and Key Concepts Relevant to Healthcare Delivery

7. Management of health information

8. Negligence

9. Civil Liability for ‘Trespass to Person’ and ‘Defamation’

10. Criminal Law and Issues related to Health Care

Section 4: Matters of Life and Death

11. Registration of Births and Deaths and the Coroners Court

12. Abortion, Wrongful Birth, Wrongful Life and Pre-Natal Injury

13. Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy

14. Advance Care Planning and End of Life Decision Making

Section 5: Further Practice Considerations

15. The removal and donation of human blood, tissue, and organs

16. The regulation of drugs and poisons

17. Mental Health Law and Ethics

18. Child and elder abuse

Section 6: Law and Ethics in Action

19. Working with legal representatives

20. Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration

21. Case studies: Guided application of legal and ethical principles