[Criminal liability in case of medical acts considered to be incompetent: article 6 of the new Italian Law 8 March 2017, n.24]

In Italy, Law n. 24 of 8 March 2017, Article 6, introduces in the current criminal code, Article 590 sexies entitled "Medical liability in case of death and personal lesions", which follows article 590 quinquies. The new article states that a healthcare professional who has acted in accordance with guidelines approved by the National Health Institute or, if no such guidelines exist, in accordance with good clinical practices, is not criminally liable in case of death or personal lesions due to actions that could be considered to be incompetent. We discuss criminal liability of health professionals in Italy in light of this new law, and decriminalization in case of adverse event due to incompetence, also in the context of medical care provided by different health professionals.

[Economic issues and public alcohol abuse prevention policies in France]

Objective: To analyse the impact of the alcohol market on the implementation of strong-willed public alcohol abuse prevention policies based on a critical review of the literature. Method: Documentary research and analysis of the alcohol market economic data were performed. An overview of public alcohol abuse prevention policies was conducted from a historical perspective by distinguishing drunkenness control policies, protection of vulnerable populations, and the fight against drink driving and drinking in the workplace. Results: Public alcohol abuse prevention policies are primarily designed to reduce the harmful consequences of alcohol occurring as a result of a drinking episode (motor vehicle accident, highway accidents, etc.), while neglecting the long-term consequences (cancer, cirrhosis, etc.). Moreover, while taxation is one of the major public health tools used to reduce the costs of alcohol-related damage on society, the State exercises legislative and tax protection for alcoholic beverages produced in France. In particular, wine benefits from a lower tax rate than other stronger forms of alcohol (spirits, liquors, etc.). The economic weight of the alcohol market can provide an explanation for these public alcohol abuse prevention policies. Conclusion: In view of the mortality caused by alcohol abuse, France must implement a proactive public policy. An alcohol taxation policy based on the alcohol content, a minimum unit pricing for alcohol, or higher taxes on alcohol are public policies that could be considered in order to reduce alcohol-related mortality.

[Construction of a professionnal juridiction in Adapted Physical Activity in the medical world]

Analysis of interactions between professionals and patients with chronic diseases reveals a space invested by professional expertise in which APA teachers occupy their own distinctive position.</ce:para>.

Battling over Jobs: Occupational Licensing in Health Care

The goal of this paper is to outline the major tensions between the monopoly face of licensing versus potential consumer protection goals of occupational regulation in the health care industry. Historically, health care occupations limited supply as a method of raising earnings, but with the growth in the number of newly regulated occupations, many professions have come in conflict over who gets to do the work. Rather than having consumers decide, state legislatures and licensing boards determine the allocation of tasks. The paper outlines policies that may allow consumers rather than service providers determine the direct allocation of these jobs.

Strengthening health professions regulation in Cambodia: a rapid assessment

BACKGROUND

This paper describes a rapid assessment of Cambodia's current system for regulating its health professions. The assessment forms part of a co-design process to set strategic priorities for strengthening health profession regulation to improve the quality and safety of health services. A health system approach for strengthening health professions' regulation is underway and aims to support the Government of Cambodia's plans for scaling up its health workforce, improving health services' safety and quality, and meeting its Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) obligations to facilitate trade in health care services.

METHODS

The assessment used a mixed methods approach including: A desktop review of key laws, plans, reports and other documents relating to the regulation of the health professions in Cambodia (medicine, dentistry, midwifery, nursing and pharmacy); Key informant interviews with stakeholders in Cambodia (The term "stakeholders" refers to government officials, people working on health professional regulation, people working for the various health worker training institutions and health workers at the national and provincial level); Surveys and questionnaires to assess Cambodian stakeholder knowledge of regulation; Self-assessments by members of the five Cambodian regulatory councils regarding key capacities and activities of high-performing regulatory bodies; and A rapid literature review to identify: The key functions of health professional regulation; The key issues affecting the Cambodian health sector (including relevant developments in the wider ASEAN region); and "Smart" health profession regulation practices of possible relevance to Cambodia.

RESULTS

We found that the current regulatory system only partially meets Cambodia's needs. A number of key regulatory functions are being performed, but overall, the current system was not designed with Cambodia's specific needs in mind. The existing system is also overly complex, with considerable duplication and overlap between governance and regulatory arrangements for the five regulated professions.

CONCLUSIONS

There is considerable scope for reform to the current regulatory system to better align the system to Cambodia's: Current needs and circumstances; Health system strategic priorities; and International obligations. Cambodia is also well placed to base its reformed regulatory system on recent developments of "smart regulatory practices" for health professionals.

Ensuring accountability through health professional regulatory bodies: the case of conflict of interest

How do self-regulated health professions' regulatory bodies address financial conflict of interest (coi) and ensure accountability to the public? using document analysis, we examined how four ontario regulatory colleges (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, audiologists/speech-language pathologists) defined coi and the education, guidance and enforcement they provided for coi-related issues. These colleges are upholding the mandates to define, identify and address financial coi by providing regulations or standards and guidelines to their membership; they differed in the amount of educational materials provided to their registrants and in the possible coi scenarios they presented. Although there were few disciplinary hearings pertaining to financial coi, findings for the hearings that did occur were documented and posted on the college public registers (the listing of all registered college members along with all relevant practice information), informing the public of any limitations or restrictions placed on a member as a result of the hearing.

Enhancing pediatric workforce diversity and providing culturally effective pediatric care: implications for practice, education, and policy making

This policy statement serves to combine and update 2 previously independent but overlapping statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on culturally effective health care (CEHC) and workforce diversity. The AAP has long recognized that with the ever-increasing diversity of the pediatric population in the United States, the health of all children depends on the ability of all pediatricians to practice culturally effective care. CEHC can be defined as the delivery of care within the context of appropriate physician knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of all cultural distinctions, leading to optimal health outcomes. The AAP believes that CEHC is a critical social value and that the knowledge and skills necessary for providing CEHC can be taught and acquired through focused curricula across the spectrum of lifelong learning. This statement also addresses workforce diversity, health disparities, and affirmative action. The discussion of diversity is broadened to include not only race, ethnicity, and language but also cultural attributes such as gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and disability, which may affect the quality of health care. The AAP believes that efforts must be supported through health policy and advocacy initiatives to promote the delivery of CEHC and to overcome educational, organizational, and other barriers to improving workforce diversity.

Doctors targeted

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to get involved in scope-of-practice issues. South Carolina dental regulators have already felt the FTC's wrath. That worries organized medicine and state licensing boards. They fear the powerful agency may place a higher value on competition than on patient safety.

Recent changes to the governance and accountability of the regulated health professions in Ontario

Recent legislative changes to the governance and accountability of the health professions in Ontario have seen greater government involvement in the self-regulated health professions. The mandate of all self-regulatory bodies for the health professions in Ontario is protection of the public. Self-regulating professions monitor and enforce standards for entry to practice and continuing competence. Nurse leaders in education and clinical practice must be aware of these changes to the regulatory structure for health professions in Ontario. This paper describes the concept of self-regulation and its legislative history within the health professions. Nurse leaders have an important role in ensuring that team members, patients and the public are aware of the meaning of and rationale for self-regulation and the primacy of protecting the public interest.

Health visiting and district nursing in Victorian Manchester; divergent and convergent vocations

Community nursing and public health work provided many Victorian and Edwardian women in Britain with the opportunity of a career and professional training. Such work created contradictions, not least the tension between 'inherent' female skills and the role of learnt professionalism. This article discusses Manchester's neglected district nurses alongside the city's more well-studied health visiting scheme. Comparing these occupations in one city highlights continuities in origins and practice, but a clear divergence in terms of class and purpose. These differences provide historians with opportunities to reconsider the inherent tensions and varied identities of employed women in Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

[The insurance of professional responsibility of medical professionals in Russia]

The article deals with the characteristics of implementation of mandatory insurance of professional risk of medical professionals. The possible directions in resolving actual problems are proposed in the elaboration of normative legal act on insurance of their professional responsibility.

Regulation of health practitioners: national reform in Australia

From the second half of 2010 Australia has had a uniform regime for registration of health practitioners and, with the exception of New South Wales, a nationally consistent scheme for regulation of a number of categories of health practitioners. This entails a move toward validation requirements, a continuing focus on protection of titles as the principal regulatory mechanism, and an identification of those professions currently suitable for formal registration and regulation. This editorial discusses issues arising from the new national regulatory arrangements, controversies about the distinction between "conduct" and "performance" investigations, challenges in relation to assessment of impairment and what constitutes a "fit and proper person" as well as issues arising from the mandatory notification provisions within the legislation.

Traditional vocations and modern professions among Tamil Brahmans in colonial and post-colonial south India

Since the nineteenth century, Tamil Brahmans have been very well represented in the educated professions, especially law and administration, medicine, engineering and nowadays, information technology. This is partly a continuation of the Brahmans' role as literate service people, owing to their traditions of education, learning and literacy, but the range of professions shows that any direct continuity is more apparent than real. Genealogical data are particularly used as evidence about changing patterns of employment, education and migration. Caste traditionalism was not a determining constraint, for Tamil Brahmans were predominant in medicine and engineering as well as law and administration in the colonial period, even though medicine is ritually polluting and engineering resembles low-status artisans' work. Crucially though, as modern, English-language, credential-based professions that are wellpaid and prestigious, law, medicine and engineering were and are all deemed eminently suitable for Tamil Brahmans, who typically regard their professional success as a sign of their caste superiority in the modern world. In reality, though, it is mainly a product of how their old social and cultural capital and their economic capital in land were transformed as they seized new educational and employment opportunities by flexibly deploying their traditional, inherited skills and advantages.

Eu accession and its consequences for Czech professionals

In March 2003, the Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands) organised a conference on EU accession and its consequences for applicant countries' health systems. One of the sessions dealt with health professionals. Questions raised during this meeting concerned the impact of accession on medical doctors, in particularly the options of new member state nationals to practice their profession in another member state, and the reverse. It appeared that there are several (legal) barriers for border crossing professionals. This issue is of extreme importance to both the EU, its member states and the applicant countries. Therefore, it is of importance that Czech health professionals participate in this debate. Due to many uncertainties in the pre-accession stage, the conference could not give a clear answer to all the questions. This contribution is an attempt to enhance the national debate on potential consequences of the free movement of persons to the Czech Republic by explaining the European legal context of free movement of persons and to make some critical remarks on the Czech situation.

The relationship between health care and mass media in Polish law

The purpose of this presentation is to analyse the relations between: medical professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) and health institutions (their managers), and, press and other media, from the point of view of Polish law. In this respect the medical professional or institution is situated between health law and press law--sometimes without realising the common problems of both, such as the problem of access to information versus personal privacy or the question related to medicine-press contacts in the advertising of professionals, institutions and pharmaceuticals. In this paper I shall attempt to examine the interdisciplinary areas of current Polish law.

An analysis of a health professions appeal board--should a mediational style of hearing matters be adopted?

The Ontario Health Professions Board is a statutory Board that carries out a supervisory function and review function of certain matters arising from twenty-three health professions in the province. This paper examines the board, how it functions, and the nature and type of disputes, which come before it. Having regard to key concepts in the areas of conflict analysis and process design, the paper critically discusses whether the Board ought to adopt a mediational style of hearing matters. The conclusions are that there are very real dangers that the current practices of the Board may contribute to conflict rather than resolve it, that there is no legal impediment to the Board adopting a mediational style of hearing matters, and that such an approach would contribute to the Board effectively carrying out its statutory functions.

[Evaluation of the Dutch Individual Health Care Professions Act]

In 1997 the Dutch Individual Health Care Professions Act on the regulation of professions in health care came into force. This Act introduced a major reorganisation of the legal regulation of health-care professions. The evaluation of the Act, completed in 2002, indicates that the new legal structure has improved the quality of care. Yet several shortcomings have also been found in the Act, in terms of both the concept and the content. These are mainly due to discrepancies between the starting points and the concept of the Act on the one hand and the developments that have actually taken place in health care on the other hand, as well as a rather inactive system of inspection and control. The researchers who carried out the evaluation have formulated several proposals for improving the contents and effectiveness of the Act.