LAWPUBL 747 : Special Topic: Patients' Rights

Law

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

This wide-ranging course examines key current issues in patients’ rights. Topics may include: access, quality and information, rights to access health care, how the quality of health care is assessed, limits of information disclosure, outcomes data, complaint history, resolution of patient concerns and access to justice, patient protection from incompetence and abusive practitioners and the role of professional discipline.

Course Overview

This course examines some current issues in patients’ rights in New Zealand, in the areas of access, safety and quality, information, and complaints and inquiries. 


Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Master of Laws

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Examine selected topics of law and practice relating to patients’ rights in New Zealand, in access, safety and quality, information, complaints & inquiries (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 5.1)
  2. Understand the limits of accountability of DHBs for delayed, denied or substandard care (Capability 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  3. Recognise the tensions underpinning the HDC complaint handling system (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1 and 4.3)
  4. Become familiar with trends in transparency of health information and the OIA (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 5.2)
  5. Understand how the law balances protection of patients and fairness to practitioners when a health practitioner is accused of sexual misconduct (Capability 2.1, 2.3, 3.1 and 6.3)
  6. Understand the role of national inquiries into problems in health care (Capability 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  7. Research and become expert in a patients’ rights topic. (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Research Outline 10% Individual Coursework
Research Essay 90% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Research Outline
Research Essay
Research outline 
You are required to submit an essay plan of 300-500 words by 12 noon on Tuesday 2nd June 2020.  

Research Essay
Each student is required to submit a research essay of no more than  6500 words (including an abstract/synopsis of approximately 200 words). It must be original work. Proper legal citations and a bibliography are required, following the New Zealand Law Style Guide. 
 
You are expected to engage with relevant legal and policy issues by: examining and critiquing the operation of law and policy in practice; analyzing relevant concepts; and suggesting possible reforms. The Research Essay must be submitted via CANVAS by  9th July 2020 12 noon. 


Learning Resources

Reading Materials
Reading materials will be listed on the student information system Canvas. Students may also be asked to access additional materials via the Internet or in the Davis Law Library. All students are expected to read and study all the assigned reading for each class.

Workload Expectations

There will be 18 contact hours in this course. As a postgraduate course, there is an expectation that you prepare well for each class. The nature of the substantive assessment involving independent research also requires a significant amount of work outside of class. As a general guide, you should expect a workload of six hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 150 hours.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 20/01/2020 02:20 p.m.