1,721,023 research outputs found
The doctrine of double effect
No full text• The doctrine of double effect is an exception to the general rule that taking active steps that end life is unlawful.\ud
• The essence of the doctrine at common law is intention.\ud
• Hastening a patient’s death through palliative care will be lawful provided the primary intention is to relieve pain, and not cause death, even if that death is foreseen.\ud
• Some States have enacted legislative excuses that deal with the provision of palliative care.\ud
• These statutory excuses tend to be stricter than the common law as they impose other requirements in addition to having an appropriate intent, such as adherence to some level of recognised medical practice
Health law : scope, sources and forces
No full text• For the purposes of this chapter, “health law” encapsulates regulation of the medical and health professions, the administration of health services and the maintenance of public health to the extent that it is connected to the provision of health services. \ud
• There are diverging views as to whether health law can be regarded as a discrete “area of law”.\ud
• Health law draws on other areas of law such as tort law, criminal law and family law. It is also draws upon other disciplines, most notably medical and health ethics.\ud
• Social and economic forces have influenced the development and direction of health law, and these forces may become even more influential as the century develops. \ud
• The increasingly globalised world has implications for Australia’s health systems and raises questions and creates commitments in respect of the international community.\ud
• Technological developments, including in respect of treatment, diagnosis and information management, create ongoing challenges for health law.\ud
• Patient rights, human rights and consumerism are increasingly key drivers in the development of health law.\ud
• Health law is significant to contemporary Australian society because of the gravity of the topics that fall within its ambit, its social relevance to so many aspects of human existence and endeavour, the important role it plays in protecting the vulnerable, and the extent to which it engages with fundamental principles of justice.\u
Double effect and palliative care excuses
No full text• The doctrine of double effect is an exception to the general rule that taking active steps that end life is unlawful.\ud
\ud
• The essence of the doctrine at common law is intention.\ud
\ud
• Hastening a patient’s death through palliative care will be lawful provided the primary intention is to relieve pain, and not cause death, even if that death is foreseen.\ud
\ud
• Some States have enacted legislative excuses that deal with the provision of palliative care.\ud
\ud
• These statutory excuses tend to be stricter than the common law as they impose other requirements in addition to having an appropriate intent, such as adherence to some level of recognised medical practice
Health law : scope, sources and forces
No full text• For the purposes of this chapter, “health law” encapsulates regulation of the medical and health professions, the administration of health services and the maintenance of public health to the extent that it is connected to the provision of health services.\ud
\ud
• There are diverging views as to whether health law can be regarded as a discrete “area of law”.\ud
\ud
• Health law draws on other areas of law such as tort law, criminal law and family law. It also draws upon other disciplines, most notably medical and health ethics.\ud
\ud
• Social and economic forces have influenced the development and direction of health law, and these forces may become even more influential in the future.\ud
\ud
• The increasingly globalised world has implications for Australia's health systems and raises questions and creates commitments in respect of the international community.\ud
\ud
• Technological developments, including in respect of treatment, diagnosis and information management, create ongoing challenges for health law.\ud
\ud
• Patient rights, human rights and consumerism are increasingly key drivers in the development of health law.\ud
\ud
• Health law is significant to contemporary Australian society because of the gravity of the topics that fall within its ambit, its social relevance to so many aspects of human existence and endeavour, the important role it plays in protecting the vulnerable, and the extent to which it engages with fundamental principles of justice
Adults who lack capacity : substitute decision-making
No full text• Mechanisms to facilitate consent to healthcare for adults who lack capacity are necessary to ensure that these adults can lawfully receive appropriate medical treatment when needed.\ud
• In Australia, the common law plays only a limited role in this context, through its recognition of advance directives and through the parens patriae jurisdiction of superior courts.\ud
• Substitute decision-making for adults who lack capacity is facilitated primarily by guardianship and other related legislation. This legislation, which has been enacted in all Australian States and Territories, permits a range of decision-makers to make different types of healthcare decisions. \ud
• Substitute decision-makers can be appointed by the adult or by a guardianship or other tribunal. Where there is no appointed decision-maker, legislation generally empowers those close to the adult to make the relevant decision. Most Australian jurisdictions have also provided for statutory advance directives.\ud
• For the most serious of decisions, such as non-therapeutic sterilisations, consent can only be provided by a Tribunal. Other decisions can generally be made by a range of substitute decision-makers. Some treatment, such as very minor treatment or that which is needed in an emergency, can be provided without consent.\ud
• Guardianship legislation generally establishes a set of principles and/or other criteria to guide healthcare decisions. Mechanisms to resolve disputes as to who is the appropriate decision-maker and how a decision should be made have also been established
Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment
No full text• At common law, a competent adult can refuse life-sustaining medical treatment, either contemporaneously or through an advance directive which will operate at a later time when the adult’s capacity is lost.\ud
• Legislation in most Australian jurisdictions also provides for a competent adult to complete an advance directive that refuses life-sustaining medical treatment.\ud
• At common law, a court exercising its parens patriae jurisdiction can consent to, or authorise, the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining medical treatment from an adult or child who lacks capacity if that is in the best interests of the person. A court may also declare that the withholding or withdrawal of treatment is lawful.\ud
• Guardianship legislation in most jurisdictions allows a substitute decision-maker, in an appropriate case, to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment for an adult who lacks capacity.\ud
• In terms of children, a parent may refuse life-sustaining medical treatment for his or her child if it is in the child’s best interests.\ud
• While a refusal of life-sustaining medical treatment by a competent child may be valid, this decision can be overturned by a court.\ud
• At common law and generally under guardianship statutes, demand for futile treatment need not be complied with by doctors
Adults who lack capacity : substitute decision-making
No full text• Mechanisms to facilitate consent to healthcare for adults who lack capacity are necessary to ensure that these adults can lawfully receive appropriate medical treatment when needed.\ud
\ud
• In Australia, the common law plays only a limited role in this context, through its recognition of advance directives and through the parens patriae jurisdiction of superior courts.\ud
\ud
• Substitute decision-making for adults who lack capacity is facilitated primarily by guardianship and other related legislation. This legislation, which has been enacted in all Australian States and Territories, permits a range of decision-makers to make different types of healthcare decisions.\ud
\ud
• Substitute decision-makers can be appointed by the adult or by a guardianship or other tribunal. Where there is no appointed decision-maker, legislation generally empowers those close to the adult to make the relevant decision. Most Australian jurisdictions have also provided for statutory advance directives.\ud
\ud
• For the most serious of decisions, such as non-therapeutic sterilisations, consent can only be provided by a tribunal. Other decisions can generally be made by a range of substitute decision-makers. Some treatment, such as very minor treatment or that which is needed in an emergency, can be provided without consent.\ud
\ud
• Guardianship legislation generally establishes a set of principles and/or other criteria to guide healthcare decisions. Mechanisms have also been established to resolve disputes as to who is the appropriate decision-maker and how a decision should be made
Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment
No full text• At common law, a competent adult can refuse life-sustaining medical treatment, either contemporaneously or through an advance directive which will operate at a later time when the adult’s capacity is lost.\ud
\ud
• Legislation in most Australian jurisdictions also provides for a competent adult to complete an advance directive that refuses life-sustaining medical treatment.\ud
\ud
• At common law, a court exercising its parens patriae jurisdiction can consent to, or authorise, the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining medical treatment from an adult or child who lacks capacity if that is in the best interests of the person. A court may also declare that the withholding or withdrawal of treatment is lawful.\ud
\ud
• Guardianship legislation in all jurisdictions allows a substitute decision-maker, in an appropriate case, to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment for an adult who lacks capacity.\ud
\ud
• In terms of children, a parent may refuse life-sustaining medical treatment for his or her child if it is in the child’s best interests.\ud
\ud
• While a refusal of life-sustaining medical treatment by a competent child may be valid, this decision can be overturned by a court.\ud
\ud
• At common law and generally under guardianship statutes, demand for futile treatment need not be complied with by doctors
Racial vilification and the freedom of speech : reality not rhetoric
No full textExplores the tension between racial vilification legislation and free speech by analysing the theories upon which this right is based. It concludes that racial vilification is a justifiable limit on free speech
Health law in Australia
No full textHealth Law in Australia is the first book to deal with health law on a comprehensive national basis. In a field of law that is becoming increasingly important and where the demand for expertise is rapidly expanding, Health Law in Australia takes a logical, structured approach to an examination of the law in all Australian jurisdictions. \ud
\ud
By covering all the major areas in this diverse field of law, Health Law in Australia enhances the understanding of the discipline as a whole. Beginning with an exploration of the general principles of health law, including chapters on “Medical Negligence”, “Children and Consent”, and “Confidentiality, Privacy, and Access to Health Records”, the book goes on to consider beginning-of-life and end-of-life issues before concluding with chapters on emerging areas in health law, such as biotechnology and medical research. \ud
\ud
The contributing authors include national leaders in the field who are specialists in these areas of health law and who can therefore reveal to readers the results of their research. \ud
\ud
Health Law in Australia has been written for those with a legal background and is essential reading for undergraduate law students, postgraduate law students, researchers and scholars in the disciplines of law, health and medicine, as well as legal practitioners, government departments and bodies in the health area, and private health providers
- …
