Book excerpt: Authored by the two primary organizations in the field, Legal Medicine: Health Care Law and Medical Ethics, 8th Edition, remains the premier treatise in this increasingly important area of medical practice. In the midst of a progressively litigious culture, this essential reference provides up-to-date information on topics surrounding professional medical liability, the business aspects of medical practice, and medicolegal and ethical issues, offering comprehensive discussions on a myriad of topics that health care professionals face every day. - Addresses the legal aspects of almost every medical topic that impacts health care professionals, using actual case studies to illustrate nuances in the law. - Offers the expert guidance of top professionals across medical and legal fields in an easy-to-read format. - Includes new chapters on Legal Medicine History; Healthcare Technology; Patients with Infectious Diseases (HIV Infection and COVID-19); General Pain Management; Opioids and Illicit Drugs: Misuse, Abuse and Addiction; Cannabis (Marijuana); Drug (Treatment) Courts; and Public Health Law and Policy. - Provides authoritative information on current issues such as the high costs of medical liability insurance for practitioners and organizations; changes in health care and the law, including HIPAA and patient privacy; the overturning of Roe v. Wade; the opioid epidemic, and more. - Features Key Points boxes to open every chapter, Pearls boxes to call out important details, additional diagrams and tables throughout, a glossary of medical terms, and updated references and suggested readings. - Serves as the syllabus for the Board Review Course of the American Board of Legal Medicine (ABLM).