Table of Contents

PART 1 THE FOUNDATIONS OF LAW AND ETHICS

Chapter 1 Introduction to Law and Ethics

Chapter 2 Making Ethical Decisions

Chapter 3 Working in Health Care 

Chapter 4 Law, the Courts, and Contracts

CARE PART 2 LEGAL ISSUES FOR WORKING HEALTH PRACTITIONERS

Chapter 5 Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice

Chapter 6 Defenses to Liability Suits

Chapter 7 Medical Records and Informed Consent and Health Information Technology

Chapter 8 Privacy, Security, and Fraud

PART 3 PROFESSIONAL, TRANSITIONAL, AND SOCIETAL HEALTH CARE ISSUES

Chapter 9 Public Health Responsibilities of Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners

Chapter 10 Workplace Legalities

Chapter 11 The Beginning of Life and Childhood

Chapter 12 Death and Dying

Chapter 13 Health Care Trends and Forecasts

Glossary

Credits 
Indexes 

About the Author

Karen Judson, BS
Karen Judson taught biology laboratories at Black Hills University in Spearfish, South
Dakota; high school sciences in Idaho; and grades one and three in Washington state. She is
also a former laboratory and X-ray technician and completed two years of nurse’s training
while completing a degree in biology.
Judson has worked as a science writer since 1983. She has written relationship, family, and
psychology articles for a variety of magazines, including a series of high school classroom
magazines, making a total of 500 articles published. Judson writes science and relationship
books for teenagers (Enslow and Marshall Cavendish publishers). Her book for teens, Sports &
Money: It’s a Sell Out, made the New York City Public Library’s list of best books for teens in
1995. Her book for teens, Genetic Engineering, was chosen by the National Science Teachers’
Association as one of the best science books for children in 2001 and was featured on the
NSTA Web site. Carlene Harrison, EdD, CMA (AAMA)
Carlene Harrison is Dean of the School of Allied Health at Hodges University and is also
Program Director for the Master of Health Services Administration and Graduate Certificate
in Health Informatics. She has been a member of the faculty at Hodges University since 1992,
but came on board full time in 2000, serving first as Chair of the Medical Assisting Program.
As Dean of the School of Allied Health, she has overall responsibility for the following
degree programs: Health Services Administration, Biomedical Sciences, Medical Assisting,
Health Information Management, and Physical Therapist Assistant. Her doctorate is from
Argosy University. Her dissertation research looked at improvement in critical thinking in
adult learners.
Before becoming a full-time educator, Dr. Harrison worked for over 20 years in the health
care field as an administrator. Employed mostly in the outpatient setting, she has worked in
the for-profit, not-for-profit, and public health sectors.