Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Michele Peterson-Badali.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-164).

Thesis (DClinPsychol)-Salomons Centre. BLDSC no.DX220778.

The health care in the Czech Republic has recently undergone significant changes that have led to higher quality of care and greater patient satisfaction. But the truth is that despite the widespread availability and relatively high level of health care there still are some shortcomings, especially from the point of the use and implementation of the patients´ rights and duties. If a person finds himself in the role of the patient, it is obvious that he feels vulnerable and is worried about one of the most important values of his life, which health undoubtedly represents. Thus, if a patient puts his health into the doctor's hands, he should be sure that with him will be act on the basis of a relationship and not a paternalistic. Knowledge of rights and duties of patients is therefore particularly important in terms of strengthening the equivalent relationship between doctor and patient. As a result of consistent compliance with the various rights and duties are reduced risks that threaten during hospitalization and increased patient satisfaction with the care provided. At present, legislative regulation of patients´ rights and duties in the Czech Republic is based on the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms, however one of the most important legal documents relating to the issue is the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, which aims to safeguard human dignity and human rights and freedoms of the individual with regard to the application of biology and medicine. An important milestone in this issue also became Act no. 372/2011 Coll., on the provision of health services, which entered into force on 1st April 2012 and replaced the Act no. 20/1966 Coll., on Health Care. This diploma thesis, as the name implies, deals with patients´rights and duties, while the analysis of the issue focuses on new legislation. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and a practical part. In the introduction to the theoretical part, some basic concepts related to the topic are firstly defined. Following chapters deal with the legislative anchoring of medical law as a whole and selected principles of medical law. The last two chapters, in direct relation to medical legislation, deal with patients´actual rights and duties. The practical part is focused on the research knowledge of rights and duties of both the patients themselves as well as healthcare workers. It is based on qualitative research methods conducted through the semi-structured interview. The research simple group consisted of six respondents from the general public, and six surveyed healthcare workers. The task of this section is to bring current knowledge concerning the overall awareness of patients´ rights and duties. The aim is to analyze the current legislation of the issue and map knowledge of patients´ rights and duties in both the lay and also professional public. The research shows that public awareness of patients´ rights and duties, despite their new anchor in Act no. 372/2011 Sb., about health services, has not increased far enough. Although at first glance the general knowledge of the issue, the public, on their own initiative does not seek to increase their knowledge of their rights and duties in relation to the providers of medical services. In contrast, awareness of health professionals regarding patients´ rights and duties is at the good level, but this can be attributed mainly to the fact of their daily movements in the field of the issue. This diploma thesis presents actual information about patients´ rights and duties from the point of current legislation view. At the same time it maps the knowledge of patients´rights and duties and healthcare professionals and points to the broader psychosocial context in the issue. The results can therefore be used both to improve public awareness of their rights and duties, as well as the education of all staff in the assisting professions.

i Název diplomové práce v anglickém jazyce Contract for health care under the Civil Code Abstract This master thesis discusses a contract for health care under the Civil Code. A contract for health care was established as a new nominate contract type on the 1st of January 2014, as the Civil Code Act 89/2012 Sb. became effective. Considering the importance and wide use of the contract, it is staggering how the public knowledge about this topic is insufficiently low. The aim of this thesis is to generally introduce the topic and analyse its individual aspects. The thesis also draws attention to potential interpretation issues and legislative imperfections or ambiguities. The theoretical angle is suitably being supported by practical examples, which contribute to the overall understanding of the topic as well as make the explanation clearer. This paper gives an elementary explanation of relations between the Civil Code as a general act and special acts. To provide the best possible picture of the contract type, author likewise mentions a brief historical background and relevant elementary international law relations. Thereto the thesis includes an excursus to the English law, specifically to a patient's consent. Regarding the contract for health care under the Civil Code itself, the paper gives an...

The submitted diploma thesis deals with the issue of criminal liability in medical law, which is one of the most discussed topics nowadays. The aim of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the criminal liability of healthcare workers, a special attention is paid to analysis of selected crimes which can be committed in relation to delivery of healthcare. This diploma thesis is divided into 4 chapters presented in logical and systematic order. There are also opinions resulting from the case law and considerations de lege ferenda through the entire text. The first chapter deals with the definition of legal liability in general and conditions of its rise at a general level. For deeper introduction into this issue there are further described the types of legal liability in the context of medical law. Following chapter creates the information framework for definition of the basic concepts, such as ultima ratio principle, lege artis and conception of a crime and its constituent fact. There is also a demonstrative enumeration of circumstances excluding illegality. The main part of this thesis contains analysis of selected crimes which are at the same time most common in the healthcare area. Special attention is also paid to criminal liability of legal entities related to recent law...

It has been suggested by some commentators that the ‘real’ damage (as opposed to that pleaded) in the cases of Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust [2004] 1 AC 309 and Chester v Afshar [2005] 1 AC 134 was the claimant’s lost autonomy. Arguments have consequently been put forward that lost autonomy either already is or should be recognised as a new form of actionable damage in medical negligence cases. Given the value placed on respecting patient autonomy in medical law and bioethics, it might be thought that such a development should be welcomed. But if lost autonomy is accepted as a new form of damage in negligence, it will not be confined to the two scenarios that were present in those cases and it may be inconsistent with other established negligence principles. This thesis considers whether lost autonomy ought to be recognised as a new form of damage in negligence and concludes that it should not. A close textual analysis of Rees and Chester is undertaken in order to determine whether a ‘lost autonomy’ analysis actually provides the best explanation of those two cases. I then look at how the concepts of autonomy and harm should be understood to determine whether, ethically speaking, to interfere with someone’s autonomy is to cause them harm. The final part of the thesis considers important doctrinal tort law considerations that have been overlooked in the medical law literature. I argue that the nature of autonomy means that it cannot coherently be considered actionable damage within the tort of negligence and that recognising a duty of care to avoid interfering with people’s autonomy would be inconsistent with the restrictive approach the courts take to recovery for psychiatric injury and economic loss. My ultimate conclusion is that the benefits of allowing such claims do not outweigh the undermining of established principles that would ensue if lost autonomy were recognised as a form of actionable damage in negligence.

This dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of the practical application and judicial framework pertaining to stem cell research in South Africa. In the realisation of the above-mentioned analysis, and ultimate critique on the current and proposed legal position, focus is placed on aspects of Medical Law, Legal Philosophy and Human Rights. These include concerns on the procurement of informed consent from stem cell donors, ethical and religious influences on the regulation of biomedicine in general as well as the impact of socio-economic indicators in the realisation of the effective implementation of stem cell research. Focus is firstly placed on the medical aspects surrounding the research, whereafter an examination of the current legal position and its practical application is made. Following the discussion of the current legal position, with reference to the array of influences and concerns pertaining thereto, the newly proposed regulative measures are examined within the current international framework. These regulative measures are placed within context of the private and public sector with their different benefits and disadvantages. In a further discussion of the realisation of the private sector’s interests, focus is placed on the role that Intellectual Property Rights play in the protection of monetary incentives to conduct stem cell research. All of the above ultimately leads the author to provide an informed set of recommendations in which the proposed regulative measures can be adapted to ensure the legitimate and practically sound implementation of stem cell research in South Africa. / Dissertation (Magister Legum (Public Law))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Public Law / unrestricted

Civil liability for interventions related to human reproduction - the concepts of wrongful life and wrongful birth Abstract In this thesis, the author tries to give a comprehensive view of the issue of civil liability of health care facilities, or doctors, which arises as a result of non lege artis procedure in performing procedures and providing services that negatively affect human reproduction. In such cases, the persons concerned have the opportunity to defend themselves by means of actions for which the name wrongful birth and wrongful life has been adopted almost all over the world. In the first part of this thesis, the author discusses the most commonly used methods that help to affect human reproduction, and also gives examples of incorrect procedures in their provision. These may very often result in the filing of the above-mentioned lawsuits. At the same time, the author gives a basic description of wrongful birth and wrongful life lawsuits and a list of the main reasons, pros and cons of their approval and further recognition. The second part is devoted to the legislation in the Czech Republic. The author deals with the regulation of human rights, which are often affected only in the provision of health services, as well as the regulation of liability in general. Another part then focuses mainly...

Criminal liability of a physician and its evidence This master's thesis focuses on the concept of criminal liability regarding the performance of medical activities and its evidence. The aim of the thesis is to introduce the reader to the current issues of medical law from the perspective of criminal liability and to provide insight into other key aspects of its determination. The thesis offers answers to the questions of who and on what basis assess whether the doctor's actions were (non) lege artis, what consequences from such actions for the doctors may arise and under which circumstances the doctor will not be criminally liable. The thesis itself is divided into six chapters, which are then divided into other subchapters. The first chapter introduces medical law within the system of law of the Czech Republic and provides the basic framework of the sources of this area of law, which is regulated by both international conventions as well as national laws. The second chapter is devoted to the concept of (non) lege artis, this concept is a key criterion in deciding on the application of legal liability. The third chapter provides definitions of the conditions of criminal liability of (not only) doctors and its manifestation in the provision of health care. An important precondition for criminal...