Drawing upon real accounts of negligence, incompetence, and distrust, this book seeks to identify the key competencies of a good doctor, the ways in which medical care fails, and the roadblocks to ensuring that every licensed doctor is capable. Arguing that it is possible to improve patient care-by lifting the veils of secrecy and better informing patients, by establishing more effective ways of checking doctors' competence, and by ensuring that medical watchdogs protect the public-this discussion offers an expert's perspective on health care.

Ron Paterson is a professor of health law and policy at the University of Auckland, a former health and disability commissioner of New Zealand, and the former deputy director-general of safety and regulation at the New Zealand Ministry of Health. He is the chairman of the New Zealand Banking Ombudsman Scheme, a member of the Board of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and the chief quality advisor at the Waitemata District Health Board in Auckland, New Zealand. He is also the coeditor of the textbook Medical Law in New Zealand.