Healthcare law

Healthcare law

Healthcare law (pronunciation: /ˈhelθˌker lɔː/) is a branch of law that focuses on the legal aspects of healthcare services. It encompasses a broad range of legal disciplines related to healthcare, including medical malpractice, public health, bioethics, and mental health law.

Etymology

The term "healthcare law" is derived from the combination of "healthcare," which refers to the organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community, and "law," which refers to the system of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.

Related Terms

• Medical malpractice - A legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or healthcare professional deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury to a patient.
• Public health law - The area of law that focuses on legal issues in public health, including sanitation, water supply, waste disposal, food safety, and communicable disease control.
• Bioethics - The study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and medicine. It is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy and practice.
• Mental health law - The area of law that applies to people with a diagnosis or possible diagnosis of mental illness, and to those involved in managing or treating such people.

See also

• Health law
• Medical law
• Patient rights
• Health policy

References

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