This symposium issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics is about public health law, not health-care law. There is a difference. Most scholarly writing has examined the rich and textured field of health-care law or law and medicine. This field revolves around several broad themes related to the health-care system: delivery, financing, and research and innovation.

In studying health-care delivery, scholars have examined everything from the physician/patient relationship (e.g., consent and privacy) to systems of care (e.g., hospitals and managed care organizations). In studying financing, scholars have examined theories of competition and justice to ensure cost-efficient access to care. And in studying research and innovation, scholars have studied everything from human subject protection to intellectual property.