Medical Ethics and Law: A curriculum for the 21st Century

This short textbook on ethics and law is aimed at doctors in training and practice. Medical ethics and law are now firmly embedded in medical school curricula. The ability to make clinical decisions based on critical reasoning is a skill that is rightly considered essential in today's doctors. Medical decisions involve not only scientific understanding, but also ethical values and legal analysis. The belief that it is ethically right to act in this way and not in another should be based on good reasons: it is not enough to follow what doctors have always done or what experienced doctors are doing now. The third edition has been revised and updated to reflect changes in the core curriculum for students, legal developments and advances in medicine and technology. It includes a new 'extensions' section, providing an overview of important developing areas of medical ethics. The first part of the book covers the basics of ethics and law in the context of medicine. The second part covers specific core topics that are essential for healthcare professionals to understand. The third part of the book contains new chapters on cutting-edge topics that will be crucial for the doctors and health professionals of tomorrow. This new edition includes a new third section that expands on the core curriculum focusing on four key emerging issues in medical ethics - neuroethics, genetics, information ethics and public health ethics. Chapters relating to the law of consent, capacity and mental health have been extensively revised to reflect changes in legislation. The chapters on confidentiality and information ethics include new sections on information technology, information sharing and breaches of confidentiality.