The Principles and Practice of Primary Care and Family Medicine

Guidelines are powerful instruments of assistance to clinicians capable of extending the clinical roles of nurses and pharmacists. Purchasers and managers perceive them as technological tools guaranteeing treatment quality. Guidelines also offer mechanisms by which doctors and other health care professionals can be made more accountable to their patients. But how can clinicians tell whether a guideline has authority and whether or not it should be followed? Does the law protect doctors who comply with guidelines? Are guideline developers liable for faulty advice? This timely book provides a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the many medical and legal issues arising from the current explosion of clinical guidelines. Featuring clear summaries of relevant UK US and Commonwealth case law it is vital reading for all doctors health care workers managers purchasers patients and lawyers.

1: Health Disease and Care in the Community: Challenges and Dilemmas; i: Introduction; ii: Social, Environmental and Economic Determinants; 2: Patients and Consumers; i: Cultural Tradition and Health-Seeking Behaviour; ii: Realities; iii: Traditional Views on Health and Disease in Taiwan; iv: Health Care in the Philippines: Socio-Cultural Factors; 3: Provision of Health and Medical Care: Systems, Structure and Service; i: International Systems of Health Care; ii: A Tale of Two Systems: Japan and Hong Kong; 4: Health Economics; i: Economic Aspects of Health Care; ii: Health-Care Systems and Demands; 5: Primary Health Care and Family Medicine: Coping with Work, Demand and Expectations; 6: Practice Organization and Management; 7: Data and Information Technology; i: New Technology in Primary Care: Benefits, Problems and Advice; ii: Distance Learning; 8: Education and Training; 9: Assessment and Continuing Medical Education; 10: Research; i: General Approach; ii: Sources and Resources; iii: Personal Experiences; iv: Practical Points; 11: Quality Assurance; i: What is Quality and Quality Assurance?; ii: Implementation, Education and Training; 12: Laws, Ethics and Standards; 13: The Emergence of Family Practice; 14: The Past, Present and Future