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#Medical Law.

What is Medical Law?

Medical law is the body of laws concerning the rights and responsibilities of medical professionals and their patients. The main areas of focus for medical law include confidentiality, negligence and other torts related to medical treatment (especially medical malpractice), and criminal law and ethics.

Confidentiality

Medical doctors and mental health professionals have long had a tradition of confidentiality with their patients, dating back to the English Common Law. However, this tradition has been codified in recent years, so that anything said by a patient to a doctor or mental health professional in the course of diagnosis or treatment is privileged and confidential unless the individual expresses an imminent intention to harm himself or others.

This confidentiality has been reinforced and expanded with the advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. This federal law was designed to deal with a number of issues pertaining to the increasingly mobile and connected nature of our culture, and created a number of legal safeguards to, among other things, protect the confidentiality of a patient's medical and mental health records. The Act created a number of new, formal requirements about disclosures, ways in which information can be exchanged, and keeping patient information confidential. Those who violate the Act can face significant liability.

Negligence and Other Torts

Those diagnosing and treating others as a profession are held to a higher standard than a passerby on the street who render aid. Medical malpractice is one of the key focuses of medical law, and relates to the liability of a medical professional for negligence in the diagnosis or treatment of a patient resulting in injury or death. But, other torts do cross over into the field of medial law. For example, it is possible for a medical professional to defame a patient if they wrongfully disclose untrue information about the patient's health. Another example is battery when one performs a treatment on someone who has declined such treatment (often for religious reasons). There are a number of other possible torts, as well, so if you are a medical professional concerned about limiting your exposure, you should contact an attorney who can review your practice and advise you about how best to reduce your liability profile.

Crime and Ethics

Criminal law and ethics have taken a very large role in medical law in recent years. The rise of so-called �pill mills� have raised issues about the role of medical professionals in the trafficking of controlled substances, both from a criminal and an ethical standpoint. Other examples have included famous cases involving the euthanasia of terminally ill patients and sexual assaults against anesthetized patients.

More Information

For more information about Medical Law, visit the resources listed below. You can also contact an attorney in your area with your specific questions or assistance with your legal issues. A list of attorneys in your area may be found by visiting our Law Firms page.