Merry and McCall Smith's Errors, Medicine and the Law

Errors and violations harm many patients: this book explores how to improve both accountability and patient safety in healthcare.

Alan Merry (Author), Warren Brookbanks (Author)

9781107180499, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 April 2017

424 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.73 kg

'The authors propose a novel approach based upon the principles of a just culture and therapeutic jurisprudence, with a strong movement away from blame and toward transparency, learning, and accountability. In doing so, they have produced a well-argued, erudite, and readable treatise that stands in the very first rank. This is a book that is to be strongly recommended. It has something for everyone - practicing health care clinicians, lawyers, hospital managers, regulators, policy makers, and the public.' Jo Samanta and Ash Samanta, Journal of Legal Medicine

There is an understandable tendency or desire to attribute blame when patients are harmed by their own healthcare. However, many cases of iatrogenic harm involve little or no moral culpability. Even when blame is justified, an undue focus on one individual often deflects attention from other important factors within the inherent complexity of modern healthcare. This revised second edition advocates a rethinking of accountability in healthcare based on science, the principles of a just culture, and novel therapeutic legal processes. Updated to include many recent relevant events, including the Keystone Project in the USA and the Mid Staffordshire scandal in the UK, this book considers how the concepts of a just culture have been successfully implemented so far, and makes recommendations for best practice. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with patient safety, medical law and the regulation of healthcare.

Foreword
Acknowledgement
Introduction
1. Accidents
2. The human factor
3. Errors
4. Violations
5. Negligence, recklessness and blame
6. The standard of care
7. Assessing the standard - the role of the expert witness
8. Beyond blame: responding to the needs of the injured
9. The place of the criminal law in healthcare
10. Rethinking accountability in healthcare
Conclusion
Index.

Subject Areas: Medical ethics & professional conduct [MBDC], Medical & healthcare law [LNTM], Public health & safety law [LNTJ]