Medicine and law
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Children are being abused in Greece at an alarming rate. This article aims to clarify the magnitude of the child abuse issue in Greece and to highlight medical and legal aspects that may play a contributory role in the existing defects in the revelation, prevention, and punishment of this type of crime.
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A person's right to control his or her own body, expressed through the concept of informed consent to medical treatment, has gained worldwide acceptance. Nevertheless, this right may conflict with the state's interest in preserving life in cases where patients refuse treatment in medical emergencies. This paper examines the management of treating acute anaemia in a Jehovah's Witness in Israel who refused blood transfusion on religious grounds. ⋯ This law established statutory ethics committees which may, under defined conditions of emergency or threat to life, approve treatment against the patient's will. This power, previously vested in the courts, should be used only in extreme circumstances while, in general, patients' wishes and beliefs must be respected. Sensitivity to the legal and ethical aspects involved deserves greater emphasis in medical school curricula.
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Many initiatives have been taken to advocate, develop and emphasize patients' rights. The existence of legislation, case law or charters in the area of patients' rights does not guarantee that these rights are or will be successfully implemented in everyday practice. The implementation of patients' rights requires specific actions and expertise. ⋯ This development shows that legal interventions, such as legislation, will always have to be embedded in and/or supplemented by non-legal policy measures. This calls for a broad and well-considered implementation policy, including items at various levels (legislation, patient and patient organizations, health providers and health institutions, contextual conditions). Such a strategy calls for a multidisciplinary approach, involving input from the areas of law, ethics, medicine, the sciences etc.
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Israel enacted the Patient Rights Law in 1996. The Law embodies a movement from paternalism to autonomy in doctor-patient relations. The following year, law students at the Israeli Centre for Academic Studies participated in a clinical seminar designed to measure internalisation ofthe Law, through personal interviews with hospitalized patients. ⋯ Students received training in listening and advocacy skills. The approach is conciliatory rather than adversarial. The thesis is that respect for patient rights is an efficient tool for quality control, risk management, conflict resolution and prevention of litigation.