Ethical and legal issues are complex—more complex than one person can be consciously aware of. To discuss such issues from only one perspective would be myopic. Therefore, this review article was written by authors from 12 countries/cultures: Australia, China, Cuba, Ireland, India, Japan, Lithuania, Russia., South Africa, The Netherlands, Turtle Island and United States. The following issues were addressed: Standards of reasonable and prudent care, responsibility for care, failure to diagnose properly, failure in care, liability and malpractice, and postvention. There is no one standard of care worldwide on these issues. It is concluded that standards are defined according, first to the standards of community practices, and second, to the resources available, and hence, what reasonably can be expected. Communities are encouraged to examine and discuss these matters as we embark on this millennium.
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Leenaars et al. (2002) studied this question.
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