Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
Law and ethics are both essential attributes of a high-functioning health care system and powerful explainers of why the existing system is so difficult to improve. U.S. health law is not seamless; rather, it derives from multiple sources and is based on various theories that may be in tension with one another. There are state laws and federal laws, laws setting standards and laws providing funding, laws reinforcing professional prerogatives, laws furthering social goals, and laws promoting market competition. Complying with law is important, but health professionals also should understand that the legal and ethical constraints under which health systems operate must themselves adapt if health systems science is to advance.
Keywords
Law & ethics, health care systems, fiduciary duty, conflict of interest, professional self-regulation, market competition, fraud, abuse, privacy, confidentiality, health insurance, informed consent to treatment, medical malpractice & redressing error, withholding & withdrawing care
Publication Title
Health Systems Science
Repository Citation
Hoffman, Allison K.; Cohen, I. Glenn; and Sage, William M., "Chapter: “Health Law and Ethics”" (2019). All Faculty Scholarship. 2203.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/2203
Included in
Administrative Law Commons, Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Insurance Commons, Insurance Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legislation Commons, Medical Education Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Public Law and Legal Theory Commons, Social Welfare Law Commons
Publication Citation
In Health Systems Science (Susan Skochelak, ed., 2d ed. Elsevier 2019).