Healthcare policies are often formalized through federal or state statutes because healthcare regulation and oversight are critical governmental responsibilities.
Because healthcare policies are often established through federal and state statutes, it is essential to cite them properly to ensure clarity, accuracy, and legal authority in any academic or professional work. Citing statutes correctly acknowledges the governing laws that regulate healthcare practices and informs the reader of the specific legal frameworks being referenced. This is particularly important because healthcare statutes can vary significantly between states or involve different provisions at the federal level.
Any time a law or a court case is mentioned in the text of a paper, include an appropriate in-text citation. For court cases, that includes the main party names as well as the year – e.g. (Smith v. Arizona Medical Board, 2022). For laws (statutes), the preferred form includes the name of the law and the year – e.g. (Healthcare Accessibility Act of 2019). The APA style manual indicates anything cited in the text should also have a complete listing in the References list.
Court cases:
(Smith v. Arizona Medical Board, 2022).
For court cases, in the text include party name v. party name and the year. The names of course cases are placed in italics.
Statutes (named):
(Healthcare Accessibility Act of 2019)
(Telemedicine Regulation Act of 2020)
For statutes (bills passed by Congress or a state legislature and signed into law), in the text of your paper list the name of the law and the year. The name of the law can sometimes be found at the beginning of the bill as signed into a law and/or the beginning of the appropriate section of the codified version. The year is sometimes included in the law's name.
Statutes (no name):
(42 U.S.C. § 1812)
It is not always possible to find the name of a law, especially if the citation is to the codified version (published in the U.S. Code or one of the state codes). To cite existing law without a name, often a section of the US code or state code, some authors simply include the legal citation in the text, e.g. (42 U.S.C. § 1812), and omit the entry from the References list.
For more information, consult the APA Manual, 7th edition, Section 11.5.
The squiggle symbol (§) is called a section symbol. It is used in legal citations to refer to a specific section of a statute or legal code. When multiple sections are cited, the plural form uses two section symbols (§§).
In your word processing program, you may have to locate it in the Symbols.
You may also be able to copy it from a document or website and paste it into your own.
