LAW 312 - Health Care Quality Regulation.

This course will examine those aspects of Health Law most pertinent to ensuring quality in the health care system. Beginning with basic definitions of “health” and “quality,” the course will move on to licensing as a means of regulating acceptable quality in various categories of health care providers, including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and hospitals. Another primary means of quality enforcement in this country is the tort system, in the form of medical malpractice actions against both individuals and health care institutions. At the individual level, the physician-patient relationship, with its emphasis on communication and informed consent, lies at the heart of our system, despite the sometimes depersonalizing pressures of managed care. Subjectively, acceptable health care outcomes depend upon responsible bioethical decision-making in a world where technology forces re-definitions of what we mean by “quality” where health care is concerned.Three hours.Massie