Course

Health and Medical Law - JURD7301

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Kensington Campus

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 4

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: 36 UOC of JURD courses for students enrolled prior to 2013. For students enrolled after 2013, pre-requisite: 72 UOC of JURD courses.

Excluded: LAWS3401

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

Health and Medical Law is a relatively new and growing discipline in Australia. This subject aims to provide a sound introduction to the law relevant to the health system, the delivery of health services and related scientific and technological developments. There is no one discrete area of law involved. Rather, several different areas of law apply, including torts, contract, discrimination law, criminal law, trade practices, equity, administrative law as well as substantial statutory provisions.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

JURD7172 Foundations of Law; JURD7161 Torts; JURD7101 Criminal Law 1 and JURD7111 Criminal Law 2

Course Objectives

  • To provide a sound introduction to the law relevant to the health system, the delivery of health services and related scientific and technological developments
  • To develop skills in evaluating the effectiveness of international treaties and domestic legislation that regulate health related areas
  • Demonstrate an ability to think critically and to justify ideas in a reasoned manner
  • To develop skills in communicating effectively, in speaking and in writing
  • To gain an understanding of the possible career paths available for lawyers interested in the field of health and medical law
  • To develop the skill to Identify appropriate areas for legal research
  • To conduct advanced level legal research and writing

Main Topics

  • patient rights (international and domestic)
  • battery
  • medical negligence
  • Aboriginal health
  • confidentiality and privacy
  • access to medical records
  • the Human Tissue Act
  • HIV/AIDS, genetics
  • assisted reproductive technology
  • end of life decision-making/euthanasia
  • mental health

Assessment

  • Class Participation. 30% Class participation will be based on the following criteria: class attendance, preparation for classes (including evidence of reading, analysis and understanding of the prescribed materials) and active engagement in all classes plus a short presentation during the course.
  • Take Home Assignment. 70%. The assignment will consist of a problem question worth 50% of the mark for the paper and an research essay question worth 50% of the mark for the assignment.

Course Texts

Course materials provided by the Law School.
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Study Levels

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