"Since the days of Ancient Greece, the question of ethics in medicine has been one of continued debate. The Hippocratic oath, and subsequent professional codes, have seemingly spelled out the relationship between medical practice and ethical standards. In Physicians, Law, and Ethics, however, Dr. Chapman charges that the principles have in fact often confused ethical matters with ground rules and with doctor-to-doctor etiquette. The result, he says, has been the belief that what is good for the profession is good for the patient. Even the Hippocratic Oath, he contends, has at no time served as an ethical guide for physicians' behavior toward their patients. This stimulating and highly readabel book gives the reader a succint history of ethics in medicine, from the Golden Age of Greece to current times. Emphasizing the modern era and Western practice, Dr. Chapman examines the post-World War II movement toward a medical concept focusing primarily on the patient.
He notes that parallel to this phenomenon have been developments in the common law of malpractice that give patients a better chance than ever of winning compensation. While these developments benefit patients, Dr. Chapman describes how they have also pointed out a major flaw in malpractice law: the enormous amounts of time and money it takes to bring such cases to court. To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Chapman maintains, the medical profession needs to reconsider the basic concepts on which its ethics rest. No less important is a revision of malpractice law so that it finally begins to serve, fairly and equitably, the purposes for which it originally came into being. Literate, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Physicians, Law, and Ethics is an important contribution to today's medical care debate.
Directly relevant to other ongoing public concerns--the rights of severely deformed infants, extraordinary life-sustaining efforts, health insurance, medical fees, to name a few--Chapman's work stands as a timely and significant volume for medical practitioners and students, law students, or anyone concerned with contemporary issues in health care. It is also a perfect supplementary text for courses in ethics or philosophy." -back cover.
