While state medical licensure laws ostensibly are intended to promote worthwhile goals, such as the maintenance of high standards in health care delivery, this Article argues that these laws in practice are detrimental to consumers. The Article takes the position that licensure contributes to high medical care costs and stifles competition, innovation and consumer autonomy. It concludes that de...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether national drug control laws ensure that opioid drugs are available for medical and scientific purposes, as intended by the 1972 Protocol amendment to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. METHODS The authors examined whether the text of a convenience sample of drug laws from 15 countries: (i) acknowledged that opioid drugs are indispensable for the relief...

INTRODUCTION The health record serves several purposes and must be retained to meet those purposes. These varied purposes influence how long health records must be kept, or their retention period. AIM Present study aimed to recognize laws and procedures pertaining to retention of health records in selected countries and provide a proposed guideline for Iran. METHODS This was an applied and ...

Many states have enacted fetal protection laws as a way of promoting fetal health and combatting the problem of in utero fetal drug abuse. These laws, however, unduly compromise the constitutional rights of pregnant women, implicating a woman’s rights to privacy, due process, and equal protection under the laws. Additionally, such laws compromise both maternal health and fetal health by discour...

IMPORTANCE As of March 2015, 23 states and the District of Columbia had medical marijuana laws in place. Physicians should know both the scientific rationale and the practical implications for medical marijuana laws. OBJECTIVE To review the pharmacology, indications, and laws related to medical marijuana use. EVIDENCE REVIEW The medical literature on medical marijuana was reviewed from 1948...