Medical Law
Medical Law deals with the obligations of medical practitioners towards their patients as well as the rights of patients. Medical law covers issues of confidentiality, patient rights, medical malpractice and ethics.
Visit our Medical Malpractice page to view information regarding this branch of medical law.
Know Your Rights!
Medical Law - US
- ABA - Health Care Law
The ABA opposes federal legislation to preempt state medical liability laws and legislation to require patients injured by malpractice to utilize "health courts" that deny injured patients a right to a trial by jury or full compensation for injuries caused by medical negligence. The ABA supports proposed "Patients’ Bill of Rights" legislation which would amend ERISA so that it no longer would preempt various state health care liability laws.
- Administrative Simplification Compliance Act (ASCA)
The Administrative Simplification Compliance Act (ASCA) amended the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and requires that all claims submitted to Medicare on October 16, 2003 and beyond be done so electronically except for certain circumstances.
- Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in March 2010, gives you better health security by putting in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that hold insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more choice, and enhance the quality of care for all Americans.
- Health Information Privacy
The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes.
- Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC
In 1972, the US Congress placed marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act because they considered it to have "no accepted medical use." Since then, 15 of 50 US states and DC have legalized the medical use of marijuana.
- Office of the Surgeon General
The Office of the Surgeon General, under the direction of the Surgeon General, oversees the operations of the 6,500-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and provides support for the Surgeon General in the accomplishment of her other duties. The Office is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General serves as America's Doctor by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.
- Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act signifies the Federal Government's commitment to fostering a culture of patient safety. It creates Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) to collect, aggregate, and analyze confidential information reported by health care providers. Currently, patient safety improvement efforts are hampered by the fear of discovery of peer deliberations, resulting in under-reporting of events and an inability to aggregate sufficient patient safety event data for analysis. By analyzing patient safety event information, PSOs will be able to identify patterns of failures and propose measures to eliminate patient safety risks and hazards.
Organizations Related to Medical Law
- American Health Lawyers Association
The American Health Lawyers Association is the nation's largest, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) educational organization devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field with more than 10,000 members.
- American Medical Association (AMA)
Since 1847 the American Medical Association (AMA) has had one mission: to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. Today, the core strategy used to carry out this mission is our concerted effort to help doctors help patients. We do this by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues.
- American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
With roots extending back to 1911, ASLME is a nonprofit educational organization. Our mission is to provide high-quality scholarship, debate, and critical thought for professionals at the intersection of law, medicine, and ethics. Our members come together to examine big health questions with far-reaching social ramifications . like genetic testing and research, medical record privacy, end-of-life decisions, and the dynamics of informed consent.
- American Telemedicine Association
elemedicine is changing the world and ATA is the world of telemedicine. The American Telemedicine Association is the leading international resource and advocate promoting the use of advanced remote medical technologies. ATA and its diverse membership, works to fully integrate telemedicine into transformed healthcare systems to improve quality, equity and affordability of healthcare throughout the world.
- Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
The AAMC serves and leads the academic medicine community to improve the health of all. The AAMC represents all 133 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; approximately 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 62 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 125,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students, and 106,000 resident physicians.
- Center for Disease Control
CDC′s Mission is to collaborate to create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health – through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats.
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. HHS represents almost a quarter of all federal outlays, and it administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined. HHS’ Medicare program is the nation’s largest health insurer, handling more than 1 billion claims per year. Medicare and Medicaid together provide health care insurance for one in four Americans.
- National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME)
The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) is the national professional organization of physician medical examiners, medical death investigators and death investigation system administrators who perform the official duties of the medicolegal investigation of deaths of public interest in the United States.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency—making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives.
- World Association for Medical Law (WAML)
The World Association for Medical Law (WAML) was established in 1967, and conducted its first formal gathering in 1970. The purpose of the WAML is to encourage the study and discussion of health law, legal medicine and ethics, for the benefit of society and the advancement of human rights. The aim of the WAML is to promote the study of the consequences in jurisprudence, legislation and ethics of developments in medicine, health care and related sciences.
- World Health Organization
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
Publications Related to Medical Law
- Med Worm
MedWorm is a medical RSS feed provider as well as a search engine built on data collected from RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it is a technology used to simply publish and gather details of the very latest information on the internet. MedWorm collects updates from over 6000 authoritative data sources (growing each day) via RSS feeds. From the data collected, MedWorm provides new outgoing RSS feeds on various medical categories that you can subscribe to, via the free MedWorm online service, or another RSS reader of your choice, such as Bloglines, Newsgator, Google Reader or FeedDemon.
- Medical Law Review
The Medical Law Review is established as an authoritative source of reference for academics, lawyers, legal and medical practitioners, law students, and anyone interested in healthcare and the law. The Review presents articles of international interest which provide thorough analyses and comment on the wide range of topical issues that are fundamental to this expanding area of law. In addition, commentary sections provide in depth explorations of topical aspects in the field.
- Yale Journal of Medicine and Law
The Yale Journal of Medicine and Law is Yale’s premier publication, synthesizing these highly interconnected fields into a singular discipline. Since its inception in (what year were we started) the Journal has been at the forefront of issues including healthcare policy, bioethics, healthcare economics, biomedical research, and global healthcare. We have featured interviews with prominent figures including US Senators, Directors of organizations such as the CDC and NIH, and the US Surgeon General.
Articles on HG.org Related to Medical Law
- CAT Scan Costs Doctor $2.85 Million in Malpractice SuitA jury in Myrtle Beach, SC has awarded what is expected to be one of the state’s largest judgments in a medical malpractice lawsuit against an orthopedic surgeon whose actions left his patient a paraplegic.
- Veterans Suffering from Unexpected Source of Injuries: OvermedicationA battlefield is a dangerous place, and tens of thousands of US military veterans have come home from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries suffered on the battlefield. Naturally, many seek treatment at Veterans Affairs hospitals. But, CBS News reports that some veterans are dying of accidental overdoses of narcotic painkillers at a much higher rate than the general population.
- Understanding Informed ConsentAnyone who has ever been to a doctor has probably seen a form relating to informed consent. But what is informed consent? What happens if you are asked to consent to something that you do not understand and are later injured?
- What is HIPAA and What Does it Mean to Me?The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a set of statutes designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the US health care system. Much of it pertains to privacy issues related to your health records and what doctors and insurance companies can share with one another and with others. This is, to many, the most important part of HIPAA and creates a number of new rights for patients and new obligations for those in the medical profession.
- Proposals of Tort Reform: Limiting the Rights of the WrongedIn the last few years, costly health care has been a hot topic, as families and employers struggle with skyrocketing health insurance premiums and state and federal governments wrestle with ever-increasing Medicaid and Medicare costs.
- Wrongful Death Resulting from Medical MalpracticeWrongful death lawsuits resulting from medical malpractice are filed when a patient dies as a result of the negligence of a doctor, nurse, medical professional or medical facility. This article will provide more information about California wrongful death claims.
- Setback Regarding Doctor-Licensing Requirements Prompts ConcernsA number of Ohio medical societies are fighting back against increased licensing standards, a worrisome development in a state with so many medical malpractice cases.
- How is Medicaid Different from Medicare?The Federal government created both Medicaid and Medicare to assist some Americans with the high cost of health care
- California Medical Malpractice Lawsuit from a Medical InjuryIf you or someone you love has been seriously injured because of the negligence of a nurse, doctor, or hospital, you may be wondering if you meet the thresholds for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. This article will explain what thresholds are necessary to file a successful medical malpractice claim and how leading medical malpractice attorney Dr. Bruce Fagel proceeds with a medical malpractice lawsuit.
- The False Claims Act – Application of the Lincoln Law to the Health Care IndustryThe False Claims Act was originally focused on the defense industry during the Civil War. It was later expanded during the defense industry scandals of the 1980s. Now, the law is being applied liberally in the health care industry with very severe potential consequences for health care providers.
- All Health Care and Social Law Articles
Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Health Care and Social including: defective drugs, failure to diagnose, informed consent, medical law, medical malpractice, medication errors, pharmaceutical law, social security, social services law, surgical errors.


