Introduction to Medical Law. By Peter Marquand. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 2000. 125 pp. £15.99 (pb.) ISBN: 0-7506-4239-4

While I have been reading this book over the last few weeks the media has been full of cases in which many aspects of medical law have been aired, including the court actions surrounding the separation of conjoined twins born in Manchester. The book helped me sort out some of the journalistic flannel and understand what the real legal issues are.

Near the beginning of the book the authors look at the issues of capacity and consent. Capacity is one of the most complex and frequently misunderstood concepts in medical treatment and the simple explanation offered goes a long way to clarifying it. Most doctors only need a detailed understanding of the concept of capacity when a difficult clinical situation arises and the book would be a useful reference to refresh anyone's memory when needed.

The remaining chapters cover many important aspects of law. Only the chapter on risk management seems slightly out of place, as it is not clear why this subject, which seems to be more about good clinical practice than the law, is included. As a psychiatrist, the chapter on the Mental Health Act appears rather simplistic and does not go into the subtleties of the Act, which are part of day-to-day psychiatric practice. Similarly, the chapter on drugs and prescribing does not go into the detail that a substance misuse psychiatrist would find helpful. However, the chapters on subjects I do not know well, such as wills, abortion and transplant law, I found incredibly interesting.

This book, like any other introductory text, only summarises the issues it covers. There is no discussion of issues such as the reforms of the Mental Health Act and the General Medical Council. The book finishes appropriately with a reassuring practical chapter on defending a criminal negligence claim and another that offers guidance on report writing for experts in civil cases.

This book is exactly what it says — an introduction to medical law. It is written for all doctors and as such has little detail on issues relevant to psychiatrists. It will, though, be a very useful reference text on the more general issue of the law as applied to medicine and invaluable to trainees in any branch of medicine. I will treasure my copy carefully!