NCJ Number
140640
Date Published
1993
Length
239 pages
Annotation
Written by an attorney and directed mainly to members of the medical and legal professions, this volume explains the legal issues related to dying and death, including the legal definition of death, the right to die, advance directives, brain death, organ transplantation, informed consent, and competence and incompetence.
Abstract
The book aims to help the medical community understand the issues and increase its ability to deliver more appropriate patient care, particularly in view of advanced technology and other developments in medicine. The text explains the major laws and judicial decisions applicable to dying patients and formulates them into a law of dying and death. It examines the physician-patient relationship, the ethical issues involved in withholding information from terminally ill patients, and the involvement of patients in decisionmaking regarding their care. It also discusses the forms, systems, procedures, and sources of law related to illness, dying, and death. Chapter notes and reference lists, index, appended summary of legal doctrines and outline of law library sources, and 68 references