Review: Health Care, Crime and Regulatory Control
| Author | Kevin Dew |
| Published date | 01 April 1999 |
| Date | 01 April 1999 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/000486589903200109 |
| Subject Matter | Reviews |
REVIEWS
should be
done
-eschewing such a role indeed in a conclusion
which
endorses
Garland's observation on
the
'tragic'
nature
of
punishment. But his history shows us
why dangerousness changes its mask to
playa
new
role in our
own
day -
and
thereby
offersus
the
opportunity to be active players in setting boundaries to its use.
Mark
Finnane
Griffith
University,
Brisbane
Health Care, Crime and Regulatory Control
Smith,
Russell,
G.
(Ed.)
Annandale:
Hawkins
Press.
This edited volume arose from a conference held by
the
Australian Institute
of
Criminology in 1997. Like many publications of this
nature
it is quite diverse in
its subject
matter
and
in
the
presentation style of
the
authors.
There
are 16 chapters
in
the
text,
and
each
chapter examines some aspect of
the
regulation of
the
health
professions, ranging from
the
role
of
peer review
and
disciplinary bodies
within
a
profession to
the
use of
the
criminal justice system.
The
issues discussed here are
topical, seen in
the
relatively recent development of
health
complaints agencies, a
department from
the
self.
..
regulating
nature
of
the
health
professions,
and
new issues
that
arise in dealing with genetic medicine, telemedicine, euthanasia
and
the
rise in
popularity of alternative
health
practices.
The
book outlines
the
mechanisms in
place in different jurisdictions
that
can
constrain
health
professionals, particularly
when
their
behaviour is considered
deviant.
Deviant
behaviours include medical
negligence, fraud, sexual misconduct,
and
spreading infectious diseases.
Contributions
are made from people
with
avariety of backgrounds, including
academics, registrars
and
complaints commissioners,
and
so it is
not
surprising
that
the
chapters in this
text
are
rather
uneven.
The
contributions vary greatly, many
offering straightforward descriptions of particular complaints mechanisms
and
their
impact,
with
some analysing
the
development
of these processes.
The
book is at its
weakest
when
it comes to analysis.
There
is
one
purely theoretical
chapter
by
Pettit
that
assumes readers accept
the
premises
of
rational choice theory,
and
also implic
..
itly assumes
that
members
of
the
medical
profession
adhere
to
a
homogeneous
system of values.
One
or
two
other
chapters
touch
on
the
debates around utilitarian
and
republican models of justice
and
jurisprudence.
There
are
common
themes
that
appear in a number of chapters.
One
is
that
of
the advantages
and
disadvantages of prosecuting medical negligence and misconduct
in different fora.
There
are more specific discussions
on
the
consequences of criminal
..
ising misconduct, such as
the
criminalisation of post
..
therapeutic relationships.
There
are also good descriptions of
the
developing "disciplinary mosaic", including
that
of
conciliation, as it impacts
upon
medical doctors, nurses and alternative
health
practi
..
tioners. In many chapters interesting cases are used to illustrate
the
issues raised.
There
are a
number
of
contestable assumptions made in different chapters. A
number of contributors could
have
done
well to consider Foucault's view
that
the
THE AUSTRALIAN
AND
NEW
ZEALAND
JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY
97
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