Health law
Encyclopedia
Health Law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence affecting the health care industry and their application to health care patients, providers and payors, and vendors to the health care industry, including without limitation the (1) relationships among providers, payors and vendors to the health care industry and its patients; and (2) delivery of health care services; all with an emphasis on operations, regulatory and transactional legal issues.
Some areas of law it includes are:
" and "law
" are used to refer generically to statutes, regulation and other legal instruments (e.g. ministerial decrees) that may be the forms of law used in a particular country.
In general, there are a wide range of regulatory strategies that might be used to ensure people's health
and safety. Increasingly, regulators are taking an approach of "responsive regulation". This involves using mechanisms that are responsive to the context, conduct and culture of those being regulated, providing for a range of regulatory mechanisms to achieve the behavior desired. Where appropriate, the aim is to use incentives before sanctions. However, when those being regulated do not respond accordingly, escalating sanctions can be invoked. These strategies may be broadly
classified into five groups:
1.voluntarism : voluntary compliance undertaken by an individual organization without any coercion;
2.self-regulation : for example, an unrganized group that regulates the behavior of its own members through a voluntary code of practice;
3.economic instruments: for example, supply funding sanctions or incentives for health care providers, and/or demand-side measures that give more power to consumers;
4.meta-regulation: involving an external regulatory body to ensure that health care providers implement safety and quality practices and programmes;
5.command and control mechanisms : involving enforcement by government
Some areas of law it includes are:
- Contract law
- Medical malpracticeMedical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
- Medical lawMedical lawMedical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law....
- Administrative lawAdministrative lawAdministrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
- Public health lawPublic health lawLaw is an important public health tool that plays a critical role in reducing illness and premature death. Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health of the general population within societal limits and norms.Public health law...
- ConsentConsentConsent refers to the provision of approval or agreement, particularly and especially after thoughtful consideration.- Types of consent :*Implied consent is a controversial form of consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather inferred from a person's actions and the facts and...
Basic terms
The terms "legislationLegislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
" and "law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
" are used to refer generically to statutes, regulation and other legal instruments (e.g. ministerial decrees) that may be the forms of law used in a particular country.
In general, there are a wide range of regulatory strategies that might be used to ensure people's health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and safety. Increasingly, regulators are taking an approach of "responsive regulation". This involves using mechanisms that are responsive to the context, conduct and culture of those being regulated, providing for a range of regulatory mechanisms to achieve the behavior desired. Where appropriate, the aim is to use incentives before sanctions. However, when those being regulated do not respond accordingly, escalating sanctions can be invoked. These strategies may be broadly
classified into five groups:
1.voluntarism : voluntary compliance undertaken by an individual organization without any coercion;
2.self-regulation : for example, an unrganized group that regulates the behavior of its own members through a voluntary code of practice;
3.economic instruments: for example, supply funding sanctions or incentives for health care providers, and/or demand-side measures that give more power to consumers;
4.meta-regulation: involving an external regulatory body to ensure that health care providers implement safety and quality practices and programmes;
5.command and control mechanisms : involving enforcement by government
Academic resources
- European Journal of Health Law, ISSN: 1571-8093 (electronic) 0929-0273 (Paper), Springer
- Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, ISSN: 1527-1927 (electronic) 0361-6878 (paper), Duke University Press
related terms
- Medical laws/ethics
- BioethicsBioethicsBioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
- Medical LawMedical lawMedical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law....
- World Association for Medical LawWorld Association for Medical Law- Medical Law:Medical Law concerns the rights and duties of the medical profession and is thus directly linked to the field of medical ethics. [1]Some consider medical law a scientific discipline [1] closely related to the advancement of health related technology over the last 50 years...