Safe patient handling laws and programs offer considerable benefits to health care workers, who have higher rates of exertion injuries than other workers.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(4):416-421. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.hlaw1-1604.
The legal definition of a patient and the corresponding duties of the physician have been debated in state courts for over a century, and many aspects of the question are still unresolved.