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. As law is just one of the forces impacting on the delivery of health services social, ethical, political and economic issues will also be considered. An important aim of the course is to encourage and develop critical thinking and to challenge participants to consider the interaction between law and society. Hence, a range of carefully chosen relevant theory will be considered in relation to each topic.

Topics covered include patient rights, medical negligence, confidentiality and privacy, access to medical records, tissue transplantation, HIV/AIDS, genetics, assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy, end of life decision-making/euthanasia, research and experimentation, drugs and mental health. Although the subject will concentrate on the Australian jurisdiction, comparisons and contrasts will be made with other jurisdictions.