The medieval medical third party: compulsory consultation and malpractice insurance.

Medical third-party intervention was a venerable medieval tradition. Fifteenth century London's medical malpractice legislation and court cases contained forms of peer review, compulsory consultation for critical cases, and a malpractice insurance "floater" policy for conditions likely to lead to death, maiming, or accusations of malpractice. A four-part Latin document from 1415 and a few earlier and later manuscript rules demonstrate the role of politics in medical ethics; civil enforcement of surgical guild regulations; and ingenious forms of protection for patient, practitioner, the surgical profession, and the English citizenry. Pairing compulsory consultation with malpractice insurance policies for high-risk cases offers inspiration for alleviating some modern malpractice perils.