The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is the adjudication body responsible for making decisions on doctors’ fitness to practice in the UK. The MPTS was established in 2012 and is funded by but independent of the General Medical Council (GMC). The site has information for doctors and witnesses attending hearings. Full text decisions of the MPTS are provided along with guidance and relevant legislation.
Website created by Engish barrister Geoffrey Hall, formerly editor of the Medical Law Reports. The site is the home of the online law report ‘Medical Litigation Cases’ (MLC), edited by Hall; the series covers medical negligence and related subjects such as coroners, medical product liability, sterilisation and wrongful birth. It also includes news, articles and a page of links. Non-subscribers may read the news items, access the links page and view case lists and article titles, but only subscribers can access full-text law reports and articles.
The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) deals with clinical negligence and other claims against the NHS. Its website describes its work and provides guidance for patients, clinicians, volunteers and social enterprises. Publications available on the site include brief details of relevant human rights cases, guidance regarding claims, factsheets and legal updates.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulates fertility treatment and research in the UK. Its website explains its regulatory work and provides inspection reports, policy consultation documents and other publications. The ‘About the HFEA’ section includes domestic and EU legislation and a scanned pdf version of the 1984 Warnock Report on IVF. There are information pages for donors; donor-conceived people; fertility patients; clinic staff; the media and researchers. The FAQs page includes guidance on making complaints.
The General Optical Council (GOC) is the regulator for the optical professions in the UK, registering optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses. Within the ‘General Public’ section, ‘Legislation’ contains a consolidated version with amendments of the Opticians Act 1989, GOC rules and regulations and amendments to Medicines Act legislation, all downloadable in PDF format.
The British Medical Association (BMA) is the doctors’ professional organisation, representing doctors across all branches of medicine in the UK. The ‘Equality and Diversity’ section introduces the Equality Act 2010 and contains a short guide to the changes introduced by the Act. The ‘Medical Ethics’ section provides a range of guidance for doctors including ‘toolkits’, available in PDF, offering ethical guidance to doctors in areas such as child protection and the Mental Capacity Act. This section also contains a range of BMA publications, also in PDF format.
The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) is the division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services responsible for ensuring that human subject research complies with appropriate regulations through the provision of guidance and education to research institutions. The OHRP website publishes a range of policy guidance, including federal regulations, compliance procedures and other advice-giving materials. Policy guidance is organised by topic including consent, research, human subjects, children, prisoners, stem cells and tissue storage.
Website of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), a non-profit, membership organisation based in the United States concerned with "implementing, and advancing the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research". The site provides organisational and membership information along with details of past and upcoming conferences and PRIM&R publications. There is a large collection of links to related online resources, arranged under headings such as human subjects research, animal care and research, biosafety and general ethics.
Text of the Declaration of Helsinki, adopted in June 1964 by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association (WMA). The document is on the WMA's website. It incorporates amendments made at subsequent General Assembly meetings. The declaration concerns ethical principles for physicians and others carrying out medical research with human subjects. It is provided in English, French and Spanish.
Web pages of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, on the website of the State's Department of Health. The Task Force was formed in 1985, and convenes to consider important public policy issues to do with advances in medicine. A fact sheet on the website outlines the Task Force's mandate, and how its recommendations have had an impact on US legislation and court decisions.
