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Thematic legal research

Institute for Medical Law

Medical law as a distinct field of research

The Institute for Medical Law is the only one of its kind in Germany to date to be based within a Faculty of Health. This enables it to better reconcile the legal frameworks relevant to the healthcare sector across the boundaries of legal disciplines such as criminal, civil and social law. Its affiliation with the Faculty of Health facilitates inter- and transdisciplinary exchange with medical disciplines and enhances the training provision in the fields of medicine, dentistry and nursing. Medical law is an umbrella term encompassing liability, criminal and professional law relating to doctors and nurses, as well as hospital and health insurance law. Key issues addressed by the Institute include the impact of legal frameworks on the quality of healthcare provision, to what extent the current legal framework guarantees patient autonomy as enshrined in the Constitution, and whether the legal requirements for clinical research safeguard the freedom of choice of research participants or undermine Germany’s position as a centre for research.

Research: Resolving the tension between medicine and the law

In the field of research, the Institute for Medical Law supports clinical and healthcare research projects by addressing their legal implications, with the aim of closing gaps in the study of legal facts. In doing so, it seeks to help resolve the tension between medicine and law. By analysing how expert reports are implemented in forensic practice, the Institute is also developing evidence-based methodological approaches in this area of work, which is of great social relevance.

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Publications

All publications by the Institute for Medical Law at UW/H are gradually being included in the university bibliography.

University Bibliography

Teaching: Imparting practical legal knowledge

Students of medicine, dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and nursing receive in-depth legal knowledge from the Institute for Medical Law, which is tailored to the practical needs of their respective stage of study. In collaboration with the clinical disciplines of medicine, the teaching addresses specific issues such as areas of conflict relating to euthanasia, stem cell research and reproductive medicine. In this way, the Institute tackles misunderstandings and legal uncertainties – which are often the source of misunderstandings – whilst students are still undergraduates. Quality assurance and improvement of medical expert evidence is a further aspect of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development.

Management

Team