The Scalpel and the Paragraph: Special Issues of Medical Practice in Light of the Law

Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine

Institute of Behavioural Sciences

Name of the subject: The Scalpel and the Paragraph: Special Issues of Medical Practice in Light of the Law

Credit value: 2

Number of lessons per week: seminar: 2 hours/week (28 hours total during the semester)

Subject type: optional course

Academic year: 2020/2021

Subject code: AOSMAG512_1A

Objectives of the subject, its place in the medical curriculum:

Within the framework of the course the participants, who have an affinity for Bioethics and Law, will gain insight into the special characteristics of the legal domain and certain fundamental legal concepts and methods that are relevant for a practicing physician, but cannot be sufficiently investigated into within the framework of other compulsory courses. The course considers the general part of medical law governing the legal relationship between medical practitioners and their patients, first by distinguishing between civil law and criminal law and explaining their respective characteristics. The legal position, the customary rights and obligations of physicians and patients are examined, together with the issues of informed consent. Topics will also include the civil and criminal liability of physicians and the issue of malpractice. Selected medico-legal issues over human life are also examined; these will include foetal rights, modern reproductive technologies, various aspects of human genetic research, and certain end-of-life issues such as advance directives and euthanasia. The foregoing topics will be discussed from the perspective of comparative law, by presenting various court cases from the countries of the European Union and the United States of America as well. Attending students will gain the ability to recognise and analyse legal health care issues by engaging in interactive discussions and informative research.

Place where the subject is taught (address of the auditorium, seminar room, etc.): “NET” (Semmelweis University building on Nagyvarad ter) Seminar Room

Successful completion of the subject results in the acquisition of the following competencies:

Attending students will gain insight into the special characteristics of the legal way of thinking, the basic concepts of civil and criminal law, and also the approach to the most controversial medico-legal issues in the European Union and the United States.

Course prerequisites: None

Number of students required for the course (minimum, maximum) and method of selecting students:

Minimum number: 10; maximum number: 15

Student selection method: Chronological order of the applications in the “Neptun” system.

How to apply for the course:

Students are to register through the „Neptun” system. No special achievement/prior completion of other course(s) is required.

Detailed curriculum:

Introduction: Aims and objectives of the course; presentation of the interdisciplinary method (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The concept of „law”; the branches of law particularly relevant for medical practice (civil/private law; criminal law) (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The human being and the law. Legal personhood and capacity to act. Man as a subject to fundamental human rights. (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The parties to a medical legal relationship: doctor and patient. The legal position of the physician and the patient; their principal rights and obligations in the various legal systems (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
Creating a doctor-patient relationship: the legal regulation of informed consent in the member countries of the European Union and in the USA (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
Various legal models of the doctor-patient relationship (mandate agreement, service agreement, treatment agreement etc.) (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The physician and civil liability: malpractice/liability for damages in the member countries of the European Union and in the USA (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The physician and criminal liability: specific criminal offences that can be committed by a physician/health care specialist (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer)
The beginnings of human life and the law: legal position of the human foetus and the regulation of abortion in the various legal systems (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The beginnings of human life and the law: surrogacy and the legal issues generated by the recent developments in assisted human reproduction in Europe and in the world (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The issues of medical research on humans: the legal regulation of human cloning, stem cell research, etc. (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
End-of-life decisions and the law: the laws governing euthanasia, the “living will” and other forms of advance directives in the various legal systems; the refusal of lifesaving treatments (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
The rights of vulnerable patients, with particular regard to the rights of psychiatric patients in the European Union and the USA (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).
Review of the semester; suggestions, observations and proposals (instructor: dr.iur. Orsolya Marta Peter PhD, Lecturer).

Special study work required to successfully complete the course:

Participating students are required to prepare and hold an oral presentation (15-20 mins) about a preferred medical legal issue, to be previously approved by the instructor.

Requirements for participation in classes and the possibility to make up for absences:

Students are required to attend at least 75% of the meetings; a maximum of 4 (four) absences is acceptable. Attendance will be verified at the beginning of each meeting. In the event of more than 4 (four) absences an additional oral presentation or an essay will be required, provided such excessive absence is unjustified. No medical certificate/other proof is required up to the maximum number (4) of excused absences. In the event of more than 4 (four) absences an authentic proof of justifiable absence is accepted.

Methods to assess knowledge acquisition during term time: None

Requirements for signature:

In addition to attendance, participating students are required to prepare and hold an oral presentation (15-20 mins) about a preferred medical legal issue, to be previously approved by the instructor. A suitable schedule for such presentations will be worked out together with the students. „Aláírás” (the instructor’s „signature” indicating the fulfilment of the term requirements) will be granted as follows:

Preparation and actual holding of an oral presentation.
Proper attendance (max. 4 absences; proper justification or additional work in the event of more than 4 absences)

Type of examination:

Participants will be given a „gyakorlati jegy” (term mark) at the end of the semester; no further examination is required.

Requirements of the examination:

Participants will be given a „gyakorlati jegy” (term mark) at the end of the semester; no further examination is required.

Method and type of evaluation:

The performance of participating students will be graded as follows:

Excellent (5): less than four absences; active and constructive participation in group discussions; an oral presentation of outstanding quality.
Satisfactory (3): regular attendance; an oral presentation of good quality.
Insufficient (1): more than four absences without proper justification; no presentation or presentation of an inferior quality.

Printed, electronic and online notes, textbooks, guides and literature (URL address for online material) to aid the acquisition of the material:

There is no compulsory literature for the course.