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The four sources of law include written constitutions, statutes, administrative law, and judicial decisions.

Constitutions, sometimes referred to as the "supreme law of the land" are the very foundation of law. They outline the core principals by which a country intends to live by and are the standard by which all other laws are judged. When considering all four sources of law in terms of a hierarchy, constitutions sit at the pinnacle.

Statutes are positive law enacted by a legislative body. In the United States, statutes are enacted by Congress, state legislatures, and local governments at the county or city level. In the hierarchy of law sources, statutes follow constitutions.

Administrative law is public law that deals with the rules of government organizations by defining their powers, scope, and the duties of their administrative authority. It is primarily used by the legislative body to delegate defined legislative powers to administrative agencies. Some examples of administrative agencies created and regulated by administrative law are the Federal Trade Commission, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Food and Drug Administration. Organizations like these are necessary because they help to regulate, set standards, and make rules for specific industries, programs, commodities, etc. Without them, legislatures wouldn't be able to provide the detailed rules and regulation necessary to appropriately govern all aspects of society. Despite ranking third in the hierarchy of law sources, administrative law is quite impactful as it is the source of much of the substantive law that directly affects the rights and duties of individuals and businesses. It's impact on healthcare is apparent on many levels and it's clear that much of the regulation in healthcare results from the government organizations formed by administrative law. Examples include the ability of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to set reimbursement rates for treatments or their newfound ability to negotiate drug prices, the Federal Trade Commission's ability to regulate hospital acquisitions and mergers, or the Food and Drug Administration's ability to authorize vaccines and therapeutics aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, judicial decisions are rulings made by the judiciary based on its interpretation of the laws and statutes set forth by the constitution and legislative body. Judicial decisions are subordinate to constitutions and statues enacted by a legislative body as long as the statutes are constitutional. For this reason, judicial decisions rank lowest in the hierarchy of law sources.