This book offers a current overview of patient safety and the federal and state policy decisions and legislation that has redefined the field of medical error and turned it into a broader and more complex field of legal study. The text combines a detailed presentation of current federal and state legislation aimed at patient safety, with particular attention to the Affordable Care Act provisions, along with up-to-date analysis of tort liability. All aspects of health care liability are considered - from physicians to hospitals, managed care organizations, and outpatient settings. Informed consent, HIPAA, EMTALA and other sources of liability are considered, covering all the liability/quality issues that an in-house counsel or a plaintiff or defense attorney can expect to confront in today's health care environment. New developments in state and federal regulation of "Never Events"and hospital-acquired conditions is considered, along with the rapidly changing research on medical adver