The California Physician's Legal Handbook (CPLH) is updated annually by the California Medical Association's Center for Legal Affairs. CPLH was first created in 1990 as a way to provide quick and easy answers to physicians regarding common practice management issues – and, like its namesake, it actually did start out as a handbook.
Over the years, CPLH has grown into a eight-volume legal treatise with over 5,400 pages of comprehensive legal information, including current laws, regulations and court decisions that affect the practice of medicine.
The Center for Legal Affairs staff is responsible for updating the content to ensure it reflects recently-enacted state and federal legislation, regulations, ethical opinions and organizational policy, as well as relevant court cases, hospital accreditation standards and jury instructions. The legal center is staffed by attorneys, legal assistants, health law information specialists and others, all of whom share a common passion for advocating on behalf of physicians.